


Cross Check

by TrueMeg



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Hockey, Alternate Universe - Sports, Athletes, Closeted Character, Coming Out, Don’t copy to another site, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, High School, Hockey, Hockey AU, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Injury, Junior Hockey, M/M, Major Character Injury, Multi, Outing, Secret Relationship, Secretly Dating, Sports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-09-13 16:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16895868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrueMeg/pseuds/TrueMeg
Summary: Magnus and Alec are the stars of their respective hockey teams, and everyone knows they’re rivals. But they are actually dating in secret, and things come to a head when both of their teams end up competing in the regionals hockey tournament.





	1. The Cyclones and the Knights

**Author's Note:**

> This is a new multi-chapter that I've been working on for quite some time now. I'm really excited about it, I hope everyone enjoys it!

“Alec!”

Alec heard the call of his name right before a mass of a person collided into his side, slamming him into the boards. The thud was heard all over the rink, eliciting a groan from those in the stands who watched Alec take the check and go down to the ice. It wasn’t for nothing though, because Alec had just managed to sail the puck up the ice before he got checked. He’d also taken down the opposing player who’d checked him too, the guy falling like a lump next to Alec. Fine with him. It gave the team time to regroup.

Alec was back up quickly.  Getting checked didn’t throw him off anymore. Alec watched as the opposing goalie stopped the puck from circling the edge of the rink, and passed it off to an opposing defender. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jace edging himself closer to the defender with the puck. Jace was as impulsive on the ice as he was off of it, and Alec only hoped he wouldn’t do something stupid right now.

Alec and Jace were always described as a dynamic duo on the ice. They’d been playing together for seven years, and ever since then they could almost read each other’s minds during games.

Wait for it… Alec thought. He hovered around the blue line, eyes glued to the defender with the puck as he made his way to them.

Alec was in the zone. Thirteen years of playing hockey allowed him to zone out the crowd, the jeers and the cheers alike, and anything else going on outside the ice.

The Hawks were proving to be decent competition too. The game was tied at a nail-biting 2-2. And just a minute left in the final period. One team had to make a move to end it all.

Alec saw the Hawk defender make her move. He watched the puck sail past him, and the offensive player who took possession tried to make a quick shot on Aline. But the Cyclones goalie was faster. The shot never had a chance. She deflected the puck to Simon. Simon carried the puck back down the ice, and Alec, Jace, and Sebastian Verlac set themselves up, racing toward the Hawks goal.

Simon narrowly missed a check when he sent the puck to Sebastian, who was quick to get it to Jace. Alec wasn’t too far behind, and he watched their hopefully perfect play. Jace was faster than the defense, leaving nothing between him and the goalie.

The Hawks goalie had been good. And nearly everyone in the league knew Jace as the star player of the Cyclones. But that rumor had a fatal flaw if you didn’t know the whole thing. Yes Jace was good and got a lot of attention as the center offense. But anyone who didn’t consider Alec and Jace as a team on the ice was doomed.

Jace faked a shot on goal, only to flick the puck behind him. Right as Alec was there to receive it and make his shot. The puck sailed beneath the goalie’s glove and hit the net behind.

Alec broke into a relieved smile a second before the buzzer sounded, signifying the goal and ending the game. Alec circled around the goal, skating right into Jace for a victory hug, only to be joined soon by the rest of his teammates. Gloves were clapping onto his shoulders and helmet, with shoulders knocking into him as he heard the team give Alec the congrats for scoring the winning goal.

Alec’s own adrenaline from making the winning shot was still making him buzz. He could already see the people in the stands up and cheering for their victory, and the rest of the team skating over from the bench to join. Their coach Hodge had his fists in the air before he went to the opposing coach to shake his hand.

“We’re in the tournament!” Simon shouted as Alec knocked his glove over Simon’s helmet. Another cheer from the team erupted out. It wasn’t just a game won for them. The Idris Cyclones were now entered in the Northeast Regionals Tournament.

* * *

After the fanfare following the game, the team clambered into the locker room, still riding the high from their win.  

“That was awesome!” Simon said as he pulled off his helmet. “The entire play! And right after the Hawks almost scored. They could’ve won it right there, but Aline--”

“Their shot was weak. I had that save in the bag,” Aline smirked.

“Yeah but still! And then that play. We’ve done it a thousand times in practice and it’s never been set up in an actual game! I thought Jace was going to take the shot for himself.”

“We would be in overtime still if Jace tried that shot,” said Clary.

“I would’ve made that shot on my own!” Jace retorted.

“Sure you would’ve.”

Alec took a seat on the bench, vaguely listening to Simon’s excited recount of the game and the usual roasting of Jace, even from the girls on the other side of a row of lockers. He was thinking of a nice warm shower and going home to relax in his favorite pair of sweats when he noticed a light from the bottom of his bag. He dug for it for a second, and pulled out his phone. A few notifications and texts were waiting for him, but he stared at the most recent one. Sent in just a moment ago.

_Heard you had a great game. Congrats, wildcat :)_

Alec opened up his phone and sent back:

_How did you already hear about it?_

_Word travels fast in this league,_ was the reply.

Alec couldn’t help but smile. Of course. His town alone was obsessed with their hockey team, and the same went for tons of other places in New York State. And getting into this tournament was already a pretty big deal in the youth hockey world.

“Earth to Alec!”

Alec snapped his eyes away from his phone. Jace was staring down at him, evidently done with getting heckled by the team.

“What?” Alec slipped his phone back into his bag.

“What were you smiling at?”

“Nothing.”

“Didn’t look like nothing.”

“Well it was nothing.” Alec left it at that as he pulled off his jersey and shoulder pads.  He saw Jace shake his head from the corner of his eye.

“If you’re that spaced out right as we enter the tournament--”

Alec turned to his brother. “I won’t be spaced out during the tournament, Jace.”

It was then that they noticed the rest of the locker room had gone silent, their eyes darting awkwardly between each other and the argument going on. Alec turned away from Jace and just kept getting undressed, and eventually Jace walked off to the showers.  Their mom and Izzy would be waiting for them.

* * *

Alec was dressed in his favorite sweats and his Cyclones hoodie, lounging on his bed in a way that wouldn’t be healthy for his back. It was just past midnight, and the rest of the occupants in the house had long gone silent, the long day, the game, and the school night making everyone turn in early for bed.

Alec was staying awake after stupidly leaving some biology homework for the last minute, and the need to procrastinate was swirling around in the back of his mind still. They’d already gotten the confirmation from the school that those on the team would have one week left, and then be exempt from classes while they left for the tournament. How would any of them be able to focus for one week? And that was just those on the team. Lord knew the rest of the school and the town would be following the team’s every move until and during the tournament. The Cyclones league was a pretty big deal every winter. And this was the first time in a few years the Cyclones has made it into the tournament.

His phone buzzed on his nightstand. And Alec reached over and saw a FaceTime call was coming in, someone just called “M” in his phone.

Alec was smiling before he accepted the call, and his boyfriend Magnus Bane’s face came on his screen.

“Hey you,” Magnus greeted.

“Hi.”

“I heard you had a great game today,” Magnus said. “Game winning goal, right?”

“Yeah,” Alec said. “How’d you know?”

Magnus smirked. “Don’t tell anyone, but Raphael sent our freshman Julian to your game to spy.”

Alec chuckled. “I thought that kind of stuff only happened in movies.”

“Raphael is taking all of this very seriously. And we’re not even in the tournament yet.”

“You’ll get there,” Alec said. “I know you will.”

“We’ll see tomorrow, won’t we?” Magnus’ team, the Brooklyn Knights, played their last qualifier game tomorrow afternoon.

Alec paused for a second. “I want to come watch.”

Magnus’ brow furrowed. “You’re...going to come watch?”

“Yeah. I’ll leave right after school. I’ll make up some excuse for why I won’t go home with Izzy and Jace.”

“And if you’re seen at the game?”

“Maybe I’m the spy this time. Instead of a freshman.” Alec smiled.

Magnus laughed. It was a sound Alec completely adored. “Alright then. If you insist. I’d love to have you there.”

When Magnus and Alec had first started dating, Alec had been apprehensive. The only people who knew he was gay were Magnus, and Alec’s immediate family. Otherwise, he wasn’t by any means open about it. Their school and town weren’t exactly the most accepting of places. He’d been afraid that Magnus would want their budding relationship open for everyone to see. And Alec was in no place to handle that right now. He was sure that keeping it a secret and Alec staying in the closet would surely scare Magnus away. Magnus was openly bisexual, he wouldn’t want to waste his time with someone in the closet…

But that’s not what happened. Magnus had always been respectful of Alec’s wishes, and agreed to keep their relationship a secret.

It was actually quite amusing, how people thought that the two stars of their respective youth hockey teams would hate each other. And admittedly both Magnus and Alec played that up in front of others. Then their evenings were spent in each other’s arms or kissing the heck out of each other when they were together.

“I’ll see you there,” Alec smiled. “Have a good game.”

“Thanks, Alexander.”

* * *

It wasn’t even close.

The Brooklyn Knights were shutting out the Huntington Bobcats, with an easy 4 goals scored across the three periods. Magnus had two of those goals to his name, while Maia held the other two. If they were careless enough, they could compete to see who could get a hat-trick first.

Magnus was completely in the zone, a healthy level of adrenaline keeping him moving throughout the game, which he played most of. Always after his games he felt the exhaustion and the sweat all over his body, and even some sore spots if he ever took a hit hard enough into the boards. But during every game, the only thing that mattered was the ice, his team, and getting the puck into the net.

Three minutes remained after Raphael saved another shot on the Knights goal. Magnus was elated as he skated around the goal, knocking his hand on Raphael’s shoulder in congratulations. He could feel the happy and energized feeling from the rest of his team as well. It was a feeling that fed the Knights well as the game had run its course. The crowd in the stands were still up from their seats and cheering, many of them wearing the Knights colors in solidarity for their young team.

As he slid in place for a face-off, he glanced up at the stands. There was one person up in the top corner, dressed in jeans and a black jacket, a worn-out beanie on his head. The boy’s elbows were propped on his knees, and leaning forward, he made a brief eye-contact with Magnus on the ice, and he gave Magnus a small nod.

Magnus returned the small gesture to Alec, just in time for the referee to drop the puck and for Bat to swat it away from an opposing player. The game was back on, but with three minutes left and the Bobcats four points down, the Knights could ride their good feeling right to the end of the match.

Helen held the puck for a few minutes, circling their goal for a little while and waiting for her move. In a desperate attempt, a bulky Bobcat player charged at her, grunting in frustration when she easily ducked out of his way and passed the puck up to Julian. Magnus hovered close by, his eye on a defender in their way.

Julian may have been young, but he knew his battles. He passed the puck back to Helen, and in turn kept the team hovering the puck around the blue line.

Impulsive must have been the Bobcat word of the day, because as the last few seconds remained, a player charged at Julian. Their young player went down, and the opposing team took possession, and the whole team raced down the ice, with the Knights in hot pursuit. There was a fire in Magnus, as he focused only on getting to the other end of the rink.

The bulky Bobcat slapped the puck, sailing it from the blue line, right past the defenders, and straight at Raphael in goal.

The buzzer sounded, At the exact same moment, the puck slammed into the padding on Raphael’s stomach.

The last shot on goal easily blocked.

The Knights threw up their hands and sticks in celebration, all of them gliding toward Raphael, who always hated the group-hug aspect of the game celebrations. They all crowded around each other, smiling and shouting at their victory, and their new assurance in the Bombay Memorial Regionals.

The crowd was on their feet again, a small sea of maroon colors to support the Knights. Magnus circled the goal one more time, glancing up at Alec in the corner again. Alec was on his feet, clapping and smiling. But looking only at Magnus. That cheer was for Magnus alone.

Magnus took it with him as he followed his team off the ice and to the locker room.

* * *

Alec had his beanie pulled fairly low on his head as he tried shuffling through the lobby of the rink without being noticed. He was an hour away from his hometown. But this hockey league was taken very seriously, especially going into the tournament. He didn’t want to risk and overzealous parent noticing Alec Lightwood from the Idris Cyclones.

On the way out, a small fold-out table had been set up to the side of the lobby. Alec hadn’t paid it much attention on his way in. He mostly just saw some brochures, schedules, forms: the usual thing parents might want if their kids wanted to start hockey or skating lessons, or when the next games in the rink were. But he got a chance to glance at it now, since the crowd was holding him from leaving immediately. Sitting on the corner of the table was a little stack of embroidered iron-on patches of the Brooklyn Knights logo. A Knight in full armor, sword and shield in hand, looking ready for battle and in full maroon. It had a lot more character than the swirl symbol that made up the Cyclones logo.

Alec picked up a patch and slipped it into his pocket. There were no rules against him having that to support his boyfriend. He made a mental note to find a Cyclones patch to give to Magnus too.

Alec finally made it out into the chilly parking lot, unnoticed.

* * *

“What was Alec Lightwood doing here?”

Magnus had just pulled his shoulder pads off over his head when he heard Raphael’s question. He looked up at his teammate, his expression kept even to avoid attracting Raphael’s further suspicion. “Alec Lightwood was here?”

“I saw him in the stands,” Raphael replied. Somehow, even with the most gear on, Raphael was always the first one out of the gear when the games and practices were over. “I thought you saw him too.” Raphael watched Magnus with narrowed eyes.

Magnus bent over to untie his skates. “How would I know? I know nothing of what Alec does in his life.” Except he knew a lot of what Alec did with his life. Like how Alec was terrible in his science classes. Or every Thursday night was family dinner night with his mother and siblings. Or how Alec was in the archery club at school.

“He had to be here spying on us,” Raphael said, his voice raising a bit to now include the rest of the team in this bit of information.

“In case you forgot,” Magnus said, “you sent Julian just yesterday to spy on the Cyclones game for us.”

“Easiest fifty bucks I ever made,” Julian muttered. Helen looked shocked, as she apparently didn’t know her younger brother had found a way to Idris without her knowing.

“I don’t trust him,” Raphael said. “Him or that Herondale kid. They’re just two rich little _pendejos.._.”

“Raph,” Magnus glanced up at Raphael, ignoring the dig at Alec, “They’re going to have to watch us play eventually. We’re in the tournament against them now.”

Magnus glanced back down at his skates to finish unlacing them. He and Alec had been really supportive of each other leading up to the regionals. Neither one of them really faced the idea that they were now competing against each other.

Although, all of the teams were about to be housed in the same hotel complex…

“Guys, let it go,” Maia said from the other side of the locker room. “The more you ignore Lightwood, the more focus we have to win the tournament.”

Raphael listened to Maia, and stalked off to grab his things and leave. Magnus also grabbed his things to leave, mulling over Maia’s words in his head. Ignoring Alec certainly wasn’t an option for him, especially since he and Alec might finally have some quality time together between games. He would just have to ignore the fact that he was competing against his boyfriend for now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can be found on twitter @true_lightwood and truelightwood on tumblr. If you want to talk about it, I'll use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter and tumblr


	2. Regionals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the tournament begins, Alec and Magnus are in good spirits. The challenges of keeping their relationship secret while they're now in one place is nothing they can't handle. But maybe there are threats around the corner they hadn't considered...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Sebastian and Jonathan are two separate people in this fic. We have the real Sebastian Verlac, and then a Jonathan Morgenstern. For the sake of the story, Clary and Jonathan are not related.
> 
> -I have mentions and brief use of characters from The Dark Artifices series (Julian Blackthorn from the previous chapter, for example). They’re mostly just here to round out the teams.
> 
> -If you feel so inclined, you can use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter and tumblr for this fic.

“Welcome everyone, to the Northeast Regional Youth Hockey Tournament!”

This was the one moment, standing on the ice, in front of an arena of people cheering, where Alec felt like he could breathe again.

The morning had been a rush: getting up at five in the morning, making sure he was packed and had all of his hockey gear, yelling at Jace because he wasn’t ready in time. Then they had a two hour bus ride, a scramble to get checked into the hotel and to their assigned rooms, only to turn around again to get to the rink around the block for the opening ceremony. The whole morning, Jace and Simon’s energy was at an all-time high, their conversations on the bus were entirely yelling, they both ran to their respective rooms in the hotel, and Alec’s bed was already trashed when Jace decided he needed to jump on, not one, but both of the beds in their room. It was all too much energy for Alec to handle, and he admittedly already snapped at Jace a few times. The rush of getting to the tournament, checked in, and to the hockey complex was stressful enough without Jace and Simon’s energy on top of it.

Finally, in front of a few hundred parents and spectators, they were now keeping their cool, and Alec finally relaxed. They were here, and they were ready to play.

Among other things.

Most of the rink was covered in a carpet. A podium with a microphone stood in the middle, flanked by a handful of official-looking people in suits and dress wear who were making opening announcements and speeches.

Alec was in the middle of scanning the crowd for his mother and Izzy, his eyes eventually trailed to Magnus. The Cyclones were on the opposite side of the podium from where the Knights were. It was as if Magnus could tell Alec was looking his way, because in a second, Magnus met his gaze. He looked just as comfortable as Alec now felt: shoulders relaxed, pride in his posture, leading his team, ready to play. Magnus had a smirk on his face, and Alec kept a straight face as he stared at Magnus’ deep brown eyes.

Alec jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Save your rivalry for Magnus Bane for the games, dude,” Jace whispered in Alec’s ear.

At least their gazes were interpreted as hatred, rather than what they actually were.

“Captains, come shake hands.”

Apparently Alec had missed the master of ceremonies saying that, because Jace had to shove him forward when he didn’t move right away. He met the seven other captains in front of the podium, and all took turns silently shaking hands. While Alec appeared neutral to the other captains, he was greeted sometimes with looks of disdain, especially from the captain representing the team wearing silver and the word Premier on their hoodies, and also from the captain with dark red hair, a sharpness in his eyes, and a jacket that read Alicante Devils. There was an eagerness to compete in the air, and yet these two other captains Alec met looks like they were ready to stab him in the chest just for being on a different team.

He shook Magnus’ hand last.

They approached each other, surrounded on all sides by the other captains also finishing up this ritual. They stared into each other’s eyes for a brief second before their hands extended at the same time. Alec noticed Magnus’ soft hands, yet firm grip. He had to keep himself from blushing and breaking out into an embarrassed smile right here in front of everyone. While he started avoiding direct eye contact with Magnus to get through this moment without revealing himself, he noticed the corner of Magnus’ mouth quirked up in the slightest smile.

Alec did the same right before they pulled their hands away and returned back to their respective teams.

Alec tried glancing over at Magnus when the coaches all shook hands, but Magnus wasn’t looking at him anymore. So he returned to scanning the crowd for his mom and sister. Finally, he found them, practically lost in the sea of spectators. Maryse was wearing a Cyclones jacket, and Izzy was wearing Alec’s old jersey. They’d always been so supportive of Jace and Alec’s hockey career.

The master of ceremonies took back the microphone. “Let’s have a great tournament.”

* * *

“You and Magnus looked like you two were about to take each other out,” Simon said as he glided up to Alec, rolling his hockey stick around in his hands.

“Something like that,” Alec replied.

They were just finishing up a hard practice that evening, with Hodge pushing the team in different plays and drills. Everyone was sweating and panting by the end of it all, and the team was ending their day taking shots on Aline’s goal. It was a very casual end to a hard practice. Alec hadn’t seen Magnus since their handshake at the opening ceremony. The teams had parted ways after that morning, with some going to practices, and some going back to the hotel. When he wasn’t focused on practice or the upcoming games, Alec’s mind kept trailing back to Magnus -- how close they were now, the contact of their handshake earlier, even thinking of ways to meet up with Magnus in private.

“It’s not Magnus you’ll have to worry about,” Sebastian said, coming up to Alec’s other side. “It’s Jonathan Morgenstern you should keep an eye on.”

“Who is that?” Alec asked.

“He’s the captain of the Alicante Devils. Red haired guy. Has the same look on his face as Ramsay Bolton.” Suddenly Alec knew exactly who Sebastian was talking about. The guy who looked ready to kill him, who had unnerved Alec right from the start.

“How do you know him?” Simon asked.

“I used to go to school with him,” Sebastian replied, looking down at the puck that he was lazily sliding around in front of him. “He’s always been insane.”

Sebastian said it so casually that Alec wasn’t inclined to believe him. “That sounds--”

Alec was cut off by the blow of Hodge’s whistle, and the Cyclones started making their way off the ice and to the locker room.  Alec took his time, making a few lazy shots on the open goal before making his way to the locker room. Simon was already on his way out with Clary, Emma, and Sebastian, yelling to Alec something about everyone meeting in his room to watch _Mighty Ducks 2_ (according to Simon, to get in the right mindset for the tournament).

Alec’s mind wandered back to Magnus as he started pulling off his gear. Maybe there could be a way he could spend a night with Magnus. Unless Magnus had a roommate too… Magnus staying with Alec was out of the question because of Jace.

After Alec put on his hoodie, he pulled his phone out of his bag when he saw the screen light up. It was one little text from M.

_Room 112._

It appeared that Magnus was already a step ahead of him.

“Alec?”

“What?” Alec asked, not looking at Jace as he replied, and opting instead to send a quick text to Magnus

_Be there soon._

“What is this?”

Alec glanced up and saw Jace standing over him, and in his hand was the little Knights patch he’d picked up at Magnus’ game last week. Alec’s breath hitched. He grabbed it out of Jace’s hand. “Where’d you get this?”

“It fell out of your pocket just now. Where did _you_ get it?” Jace’s tone was accusatory, and there was a hint of anger in his eyes.

“I found it,” Alec blurted out, tossing the little patch into his bag. “I just picked it up off the floor.”

“You picked it up?”

“Littering isn’t a joke, Jace.” He tried sounding nonchalant about it, but even he knew how full of shit he sounded.

“Why are you keeping it?”

“Why does it matter so much to you?” Alec grabbed his bag and stood up, shoving past Jace.

Alec made his way back to the hotel on his own. He passed by a guy from one of the other teams, the one with the very red hair and prominent cheekbones. He stared at Alec as they passed each other, but Alec avoided eye contact. He was mostly wrapped up in his thoughts about the patch… He knew Jace wouldn’t buy the idea that Alec picked it up for the sake of the environment. Maybe he could ignore the issue until the games started and Jace’s focus shifted back to hockey.

Though, it’s not like Alec could talk. He wasn’t exactly focused entirely on hockey either.

Alec was pretty sure the hotel didn’t have guest rooms on the first floor, and he was right when he wandered down a hall and only passed empty banquet rooms and locked storage closets. What was Magnus playing at with his text?

He got to room 112 to see the door slightly ajar. He slowly pushed it open. “Magnus? You here?”

“Alexander.”

Alec opened the door fully. It was just an empty business room. The light was turned off, but there was a lot of light reflecting into the room from the snow just outside the window. Magnus was perched on the edge of a desk, a smirk on his face that immediately made Alec absolutely melt. He shut the door behind him and crossed to the desk in a few strides, pulling Magnus to him by the shoulders for a long, deep, and frankly overdue, kiss.

God, he wished they could do this all the time.

He took in Magnus’ soft lips, and the light touches of his fingers on Alec’s chest. H leaned in ever so slightly when Magnus finally broke the kiss, chasing one last fleeting moment of it. But Magnus was at least still here with him, smiling up at him.

“I missed you too,” Magnus chuckled, making Alec burst out a laugh as well. “How was practice, wildcat?”

Alec shrugged. “Nothing special. Though… my teammates are convinced we hate each other. You know...with those looks we gave each other at opening.”

“That was hot, by the way,” Magnus said, kissing Alec gently again. “Especially because you’re the least-threatening person I’ve ever known.”

“Hey,” Alec retorted, “I can be threatening.”

“I’m sure you can be on the ice. But around me?”

Alec rolled his eyes, failing to hide another smile. “You got me.”

Magnus was the one person Alec knew where he felt like he could let all of his walls down. Around other people he was the perfect older brother, the serious one, the captain of the hockey team, the hard-working athlete. But he’d found that with Magnus he was smiling more, felt less insecure about his imperfections...He could be all of these things all at once. If only the rest of his life could be as easy as when it was when he was with Magnus.

“How was your practice?” Alec asked. He could see that Magnus’ hair was still wet from a shower.

“Oh you know… Working hard and hardly working. Raphael is starting to drive my teammates insane. He’s very serious about this tournament.”

Alec thought immediately of his brother. Even though Jace had been hyped up just this morning for the tournament, Alec could only guess the anger and need for intense focus was coming next. It had already popped out a few times.

“Oh, before I forget,” Alec reached into his hockey bag, which had been unceremoniously tossed to the side when he entered the room, and pulled out the little Cyclones embroidered patch he’d gotten. Alec moved next to Magnus, their shoulders touching as Alec leaned against the edge of the desk Magnus had been resting on. He handed the little patch to Magnus, a navy-blue and black swirl making up the Idris Cyclones logo. “This is for you,” Alec said as he handed Magnus the decoration. He then pulled the little Knights patch out of his jacket pocket. “I picked up this at your game. I thought you’d want one of mine too. So now we can have a bit of each other with us. Or...I guess our teams…”

“Thank you Alexander,” Magnus said, a genuine smile on his face. “That’s very sweet.”

“I try.”

“I appreciate it. I’ll keep it with me during the games.”

Magnus gently cupped Alec’s face and they kissed again.

After a few moments, Magnus asked. “So how long can I keep you with me before your team notices your absence?”

Alec sighed. “Probably not much longer. We’re watching Mighty Ducks 2 tonight… I should be there. And Jace was on my case earlier...”

“You could ignore Jace,” Magnus said with a smirk, “And it’s just a movie…”

“I mean, it’s a great movie…” Alec replied.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen it.”

Alec abruptly stepped back, holding a hand between him and his boyfriend. “You’ve never seen Mighty Ducks 2?”

“I think I’d have to see Mighty Ducks one before I saw two. So no, I haven’t seen those movies.”

“Magnus!” Alec cried with a joking indigence. “You’ve never seen the Mighty Ducks movies?”

“Aren’t they just silly kids movies?”

“No,” Alec replied, though if he was in another situation, he would’ve said yes. “Those movies are great. Mighty Ducks 2 is a classic. It’s what made me start playing hockey.”

Magnus chuckled. “Then I will watch them for you, Alexander. Someday.”

“Watch them with me?” Alec asked.

“Of course.” Magnus kissed Alec again. “Get going. Your team is waiting.”

“I’d rather stay here with you,” Alec said.

“It’s okay. We have time to see each other later.”

* * *

Magnus fired a shot at the goal. The puck flew past a defender’s stick, and bounced off the pad of the goalie and out of the goal crease. But in an instant, Maia was right there, flinging the rebound back at the goal and into the net. Magnus threw his hands in the air a second before the buzzer sounded and the crowd began cheering. Magnus skated to Maia and hugged his arms around her, and soon the rest of the team was around them to celebrate another goal. Maia had a huge grin on her face, and she fist bumped her teammates before they regrouped for another face-off.

Though, there were five minutes left in the third period, and the Knights were beating the Centerville Storm 4-0. The first game of their tournament was in the bag for the Knights.

They kept up a fast pace for the final five minutes of the game. The Storm was very obviously desperate to score something on the Knights, and they took their opportunities to check their opponents or go for the impulsive moves to get the puck.  But the Knights held their ground, despite the continuing face-offs they endured thanks to the Storm. They came out victorious, shutting out the Storm and advancing onto the next round of the tournament.

“Nice game guys,” Luke, their coach said as they were all gathered in the locker room after. “It’s a great start, but we’re not about to get too cocky. We still have a long way to go and a lot of good teams. But I believe in us.”

A murmur of agreement spread among the team. Luke smiled. “Get some rest today. Our next game is in two days, and we practice tomorrow at noon.”

The Knights all left the hockey complex at the same time, still high from their win and eager to take the rest of the day to relax. Helen and Bat were insisting they go out to the diner around the corner, and they were just finalizing the time when Raphael went stiff in the parking lot, staring ahead.

They went quiet and followed his gaze, watching the Idris Cyclones making their way toward them. It was the full team, gear slung over the backs and everything. Magnus only noted one individual, however.

He noted the ever-present determination in Alec’s eyes, one that gave Alec an air that he was constantly ready for anything. He knew all too well, having watched Alec play hockey up-close months ago, how hardened that determination got when Alec began playing. A black beanie covered half of Alec’s hair, and his boyfriend towered over the rest of his teammates.

Raphael spoke first when the Cyclones were about twenty feet away from them. “What are you doing here, rich kids?”

“Playing a game. Same as you,” Simon quipped back. He looked like he was already enjoying this little competitive exchange.

“Too bad you can’t buy your way to a win,” Raphael said. “You’ll have to actually work for it now.”

“You’ll wish we didn’t work for it when we play you,” Jace said. “Or maybe you’ll lose before then.”

“Too late for that,” Magnus said. He looked directly at Alec. “We’ve already won just now.”

Alec smirked. “Anything can happen, Bane.”

God, Alec was hot when he was like this.

Magnus led his team onward, walking right at the Cyclones as if they weren’t there. Most of the Cyclones parted to let the Knights pass, but Magnus specifically brushed past Alec, skimming Alec’s shoulder and flashing his boyfriend a small smile that no one else noticed.

“God, I hate those guys,” Raphael muttered. "And those stupid little smug looks on Lightwood's face..."

"Oh, you noticed those too," Magnus said casually, though Raphael didn't reply and kept fuming all the way back to the hotel. Magnus sighed in relief.

* * *

The Premier was a challenge for the Cyclones.

Cyclones were winning in a 3-1 game. But the Mansfield Premier were proving to be a formidable opponent right out of the gate. A lot of the players were big and forceful, and one of their centermen had a neck tattoo and septum piercing. There were brief moments where Alec thought that some of them couldn’t possibly be under the age of eighteen. But their brute wasn’t matched by the Cyclones strategy and quick plays.

Alec heard a lot of cursing and frustrated muttering from the Premier players under their breaths when things weren’t going their way. It annoyed Alec, because no amount of complaining would make the Premier team suddenly start winning.

They held onto their two point lead by the time the buzzer sounded for the end of the game. As Alec skated over to the bench to celebrate their first win, he watched as the Premier team captain snapped his hockey stick in half against his knee and shouted out an f-bomb. Though watching that startled Alec at first, he was pulled back into the high of the Cyclones first win of the tournament.

Alec looked up to see his mother and Izzy in the stands, standing and cheering for their victory. He couldn’t help but notice the captain of the Devils, with the red hair and stoic face. Jonathan Morgenstern, Sebastian had said. This guy seemed to be everywhere…

“Alec!”

Jace bumped Alec’s shoulder. Their confrontation yesterday had apparently been forgotten, for which Alec was grateful, and their dynamic on the ice had gone back to normal and had brought them this win. He felt Jace’s glove press on his shoulder.

“Come on, dude,” Jace said as they made their way to the locker room.

* * *

“You know, you’ve never explained to me why you call me that,” Alec said.

“Call you what?” Magnus asked.

“Wildcat.”

They were back in room 112. They still kept the lights out, and while it was growing dark out, it was getting harder for the two to see each other’s faces in their private room. Magnus had pulled Alec toward one of the windows where a light outside illuminated their faces in the growing darkness.

Magnus chuckled. “You remind me a bit of Troy Bolton. Though, you’re not a basketball player, or a singer. But the vague idea of Troy Bolton is there. To me, at least.”

He watched Alec’s face scrunch into confusion. “Who?”

“Alexander,” Magnus tilted his head. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember High School Musical.”

“I never saw it.”

Magnus let out a deep sigh while Alec continued talking.

“I’ve seen bits of it. Izzy watched it a lot. But what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal _is_ ,” Magnus said, cracking a smile in his own joking indignation, “That movie is a classic.”

“So is Mighty Ducks 2 and yet…” Alec smirked.

Magnus laughed and kissed Alec, letting the kiss linger for a moment. “I guess we now have two movies to watch together now. Unless you’re about to tell me you haven’t seen Mean Girls.”

“I have seen Mean Girls, Magnus.”

Alec leaned in and kissed Magnus again, and Magnus felt his boyfriend's hand circle around his back and pull him in closer

* * *

Neither one of them saw the door they hadn’t fully closed, or the pointed eyes peeking into their privacy through the crack.

Neither noticed the phone, much less the silent click of the person tapping the button on the screen.

Neither one of them noticed the person disappear once their work was done.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on twitter @true_lightwood and truelightwood on tumblr


	3. Iced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec and Magnus' world gets shattered when a reveal comes to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter and tumblr if you want to talk about this fic in either of those places!  
> Warning in this chapter for a character being outed. And for implied homophobia. Feel free to DM me on here, [twitter](https://twitter.com/true_lightwood), or [tumblr](http://truelightwood.tumblr.com/) if you want to know more about it before you read it.

It was six months earlier when Magnus and Alec had first interacted, and not just as players on the ice.

Magnus had been a counselor at a summer hockey camp in the city for a couple years now. It was something to keep him busy in the off-season, but also he loved seeing the kids eager faces everyday, strapping on rollerblades and playing on black-tops. It was something Magnus looked forward to every year. But six months prior, on the first day of a new camp session, Alec Lightwood walked in as the newest camp counselor.

After what he’d heard from his teammates about how good Alec was, and especially because Alec was from a rich town like Idris, Magnus expected someone cocky. Maybe participating in this camp was some kind of community service or probation requirement.  

“What brings you here, Lightwood?”

“You know me?”

Alec’s response had caught Magnus off-guard. Someone rich and full of themselves would surely know that people would know his name, right?

“Oh, you’re on the Knights,” Alec said, finally noticing the shirt Magnus was wearing. He shrugged. “I like hockey and working with kids.”

“You found a great fit, then,” Magnus replied.

Alec cracked a smile at that. Magnus chastised himself for thinking that was a nice sight.

Eventually he had to simply let himself enjoy the sight of Alec’s smile. The two of them grew into good friends over the course of the month, and Magnus found himself every day eager to see Alec as well as working with the kids.

They kept seeing each other even after their work was over (neither one of them told their respective teammates they were friends). Eventually Alec trusted Magnus enough to come out to him, something he hadn’t done to anyone besides his immediate family. And come September, they were dating.

He couldn’t hate Alec, even when the new hockey season came around again.

* * *

 

“Next!”

Hodge blew the whistle, and Alec kicked off. Sebastian was in the corner of his eye, in possession of the puck as they skated from the red line down toward the goal. Clary and Simon were facing them, slowly making their way closer, but waiting for Sebastian or Alec to make the first move. Sebastian made a break to get past Simon, but sailed the puck to Alec right before Simon could get to it. Alec faked the puck around Clary’s side, but she was quick to recover and stay on him. He sent it back to Sebastian, and Sebastian circled around the open goal. Alec got away from Clary to accept another pass from Sebastian, and Alec flicked the puck into the open goal.

He only enjoyed the moment for a second before a body ran into him, sending him and the other person tumbling to the ice. He heard Simon swear on top of him. Alec shoved Simon off of him and he couldn’t help but laugh a bit as he sat up.

“Simon,” Coach Hodge skated over to them, clearly exasperated. “Besides the fact that you should watch where you’re going even after a play is done,” he said, “don’t focus on staying on one player. Keep your eyes on everything going on. One more, let’s go!” He blew his whistle again as Simon helped Alec up and they both got out of the way so the drill could continue. They watched four more teammates go against each other. Once their play was over, Hodge ended practice. He had a few parting remarks about resting up before their next practice, and their next game in a couple days.

Alec was last in line behind his team retreating to the locker rooms when he heard his name called. He turned and saw Izzy across the ice, somehow having made her way to one of the team benches. Alec immediately skated over and threw out an arm to hug her over the rail. “Hey Iz.”

“It’s been a while,” Izzy said, smiling at her older brother. So far Alec and Jace hadn’t had any time to spend with Izzy and their mother. “Where’s Jace?”

“In the locker room already.”

Izzy waved it off. “I’ll catch up to him later. Anyway, how’s the hockey?”

“Still cold,” Alec replied. Izzy chuckled. “It’s good,” he continued. “I feel good and it’s going well so far.”

“I’m glad. I’m proud of you,” Izzy said.

“Alec!”

Alec turned to see Simon had come back. His eyes were wide and his mouth was moving, as if he wanted to say something but nothing was coming out.

As Alec made his way over, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper in Simon’s hand. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know, they were just in the locker rooms. We swear none of us have seen them before. It wasn’t us, I mean, we were all out here the whole time, you were…”

Simon cut off when Alec grabbed the paper out of Simon’s hand. It took him a second to realize what he was looking at. It was a couple pictures printed out on the piece of paper. His name was on top of both of the pictures, looking like a tag from Instagram.

It was right next to Magnus’ name.

The printed version wasn’t great quality, but it became clear to Alec what it was. He recognized the room in the picture as the room he and Magnus had met up in those couple times. The first picture they were close to each other, each of them with a hand on the other. The second was them kissing.

“Alec?”

Alec knew Simon was still next to him, but he felt distant. At some point, his hands had started shaking, and he dropped the paper to the floor. He pushed past Simon and made for the locker room.

Everyone’s faces snapped up at him when he entered, making Alec stop at the door. Each member of his team had the same picture in hand, some were even scattered on the floor, and every locker had a paper taped to it. Alec slowly walked toward his locker, everyone still looking at him. On his locker was the same print-out, but with words added in permanent ink on it.

**_NO MORE SECRETS, LIGHTWOOD._ **

Alec realized he was still shaking, and he tore his eyes away from the pictures. But they were everywhere, all around him. He already couldn’t escape what was happening. He needed to get out of here.

He sat down to pull off his skates, but he was fumbling with the laces and he wasn’t going fast enough. Someone in front of him moved to him.

“Alec?” It was Clary’s voice. “We can figure out who did this. There are probably cameras somewhere in the building…”

“I saw Morgenstern here this when we came in,” Sebastian said.

“Members of the Premier were here too,” said Emma.

“This is so messed up…” murmured Aline.

Alec heard everything like he was underwater, muffled and just out of reach. He didn’t care what they had to say, he just didn’t want to be here. He roughly pulled off one skate and started going after the other.

“Alec, is this real?” Jace practically shouted, making everyone else go quiet again. “You and Magnus _Bane_?”

Alec yanked off his other skate. “Why does it matter?” He muttered as he stood to grab his stuff. “Why does it fucking matter?”

“ _Magnus Bane_?” Jace’s voice raised some more. “Of all people?”

Clary stepped forward. “Jace, that’s not the point--”

But Jace ignored her. “He’s on an enemy team, Alec!”

“God, shut _up_!” Alec roared. He stood up and towered over Jace. Their eyes were met in a glare. Alec was filled with anger, yet he was still trembling as the locker room was silent. Alec couldn’t tell if he wanted to yell at Jace, or yell at everyone else, or even take every single piece of paper with his secret plastered all over it and rip them all into pieces.

Instead, he swore loudly and shoved past Jace, grabbed his bag, and stormed out of the locker room.

Every thought in his head was running as fast as it could. How could someone find out about this? Who was it? He thought he and Magnus had been so careful. Someone must have followed them to their room… And now everyone would know Alec was gay too. He wasn’t ready for that. Everyone would look at him differently now. He couldn’t just be Alec anymore, he had to be _gay_ Alec. He wasn’t ready for this, this was supposed to be his thing…

Alec pushed through the doors of the hotel before he realized he didn’t really know where he was going. He could go back to room 112, but that wasn’t safe anymore. That was where someone had seen him and Magnus and revealed everything. Maybe he should just go back to his room.

On his way to the elevator, Magnus was there. Magnus stood up from the couch, staring at Alec. Alec wondered if Magnus knew yet, until he saw the familiar piece of paper in Magnus’ hand. His instead read **_NO MORE SECRETS, BANE_ **.

Alec let out a shaky breath. So it wasn’t just in the locker room. Alec approached Magnus.  “H-how… I don’t…”

Magnus reached a hand to Alec’s shoulder, but then stopped himself. “All these were slid under our doors when we woke up. And they were all over our doors… I thought we could just get rid of them but the pictures are on social media too...All of the teams got tagged in it, so...everyone’s seen them....”

“Fuck…” Alec looked away. How was he supposed to handle this? Things felt like they were falling apart.

“Alexander, just breathe,” Magnus said gently.

“I can’t!” Alec burst. “I can’t do this right now. This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“I know, and we will figure it out. Just relax for me right now.”

Alec didn’t listen, and walked away from Magnus to the elevator. He needed to be alone.

The hand on his shoulder made him jump, but upon turning, he saw Magnus right there next to him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Alec was always used to solving problems on his own. He wasn’t used to getting help. Or someone insisting to be there for him. He nodded.

Luckily the Cyclones hallway didn’t have any of those infernal print-outs, and he led Magnus into his empty room. Alec took the time to recount how he found all the pictures all over the locker room, and Magnus also explained that he’d woken up to his teammates in the hall with the pictures scattered everywhere, and on social media.

“Jesus… I hate this.”

“I do too…”

Their perfect little world, shattered in an instant.

They lapsed into a silence weighing heavily on the room, neither one of them knowing what to say or how to solve the problem. It was unspoken that there was no way to solve this.

Alec only realized then he was still in his gear from practice. “I need to shower.”

“We still need to keep talking about this after,” Magnus said as Alec closed the bathroom door behind him.

Alec tore all of his gear off and immediately stepped into a warm shower. He let the warm water trail over his body as he leaned against the tile wall.

He was pretty sure this was the worst moment of his life. He’d only come out to his mom and siblings a few months before, and even then he waited until his father was officially divorced and out of the house. He was nowhere near ready being out to his team, much less everyone in the world right now.

But that’s what happened. That was the situation.

Maybe he should pack his things and go home now. Leave this whole stupid tournament behind. But even thinking it seemed irrational. Because Alec wanted to play this tournament.

Alec loved hockey because it kept him active, physically and mentally. Strategize, set up, keep aware of the things around you, rely on your teammates. You could do everything in your power to prepare, but the games themselves could never go exactly to plan. You get checked into the boards, knocked over, but you always get back up, and face your opponent head-on.

Alec told himself that just like hockey, he had to take the check and get back up.

Easier said than done.

“Shit,” Alec muttered as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. At least he was calmer now than he was an hour ago. And he knew he had to keep going, even if it wasn’t an easy task.

He was getting dressed into sweatpants and a t-shirt when he heard the door to his room open, and a lot of voices trailing inside. Well, now he and Magnus certainly weren’t getting that private conversation now.

He stepped out of the bathroom and faced them. It was his full team, plus Izzy, and Magnus was there in the middle of it all. Alec shook his head. “Can you all stop staring at me?”

Simon shook his head. “Sorry man.”

“Alec,” Clary stood up. “We got rid of all the posters in the building. And we had to tell Hodge.”

“You told Hodge?” Alec asked, ready to get defensive again.

“We were going to wait,” Aline said. “But he’s talking to the tournament officials now. He’s going to try and find out who did this.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Alec muttered. “It’s done.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Aline continued. “It’s an invasion of privacy!”

“Everything’s out in the open now,” Alec said.

“Alec,” Clary put a hand on his arm, and he glanced at her hand before letting his eyes trail up to meet hers. Clary was always tiny compared to him, but a formidable force on the ice. “This shouldn’t have happened. No matter what, you’re still you and we’re supporting you. Deal with it.”

Leave it to Clary to end her little speech on something like that. Alec sighed and couldn’t stop a small smile creeping up. Maybe this would be okay.

He wasn’t a hugger, but he put one arm around Clary. “Thanks Fray.”

* * *

 

“I should go.”

The Cyclones had tried at first to work out theories of who their perpetrator might be, or ideas on how to combat it. But nothing came of it. But Magnus had to admit, hanging out with them was pretty entertaining. They stayed in Alec’s room until Magnus himself had to get to his own team practice.”

“Can I see you again tonight?” Alec asked.

“I’ll come back here when I’m done.” Magnus kissed Alec’s cheek and left the hotel room unceremoniously.

He’s kept his cool for Alec’s sake, but his mind was a mess of thoughts about what happened. Sure, Magnus was open about the fact that he was bisexual, but it was hateful moments like these when he remembered how scary it can be, to be your full self for people to judge. Magnus never regretted anything about being out or being with Alec. But this, their privacy invaded and their pictures paraded around the hotel like some sick joke, felt like an earthquake throwing everything they’d had off its axis.

Their lives weren’t supposed to be anyone else’s sick joke.

Magnus suddenly knew how Alec felt earlier when he walked into the locker room and his whole team stared at him. “Can you all stop staring?”

Most of them turned their heads away. As he went to a free locker, he saw Helen bite her lip before speaking. “Magnus I’m sorry this happened.”

“We can’t change it now. What’s done is done.”

A pause came, with just the gentle sounds of the players getting into their practice gear. It was Raphael who broke it a few moments later. “Alec Lightwood?” He asked.

“Yes.” Magnus straightened up. “I am dating Alec Lightwood. Doesn’t matter who it is, though, because my private life was made public without our consent. Alec was forced out of the closet, we’re the victims of a stupid joke…” He paused. “And no, we don’t know who did it. So I don’t think that me dating Alec specifically really matters right now, do you?”

Raphael didn’t say anything, and the locker room was silent. Magnus looked away from them to keep getting ready.

“You’re right,” he heard Raphael finally say. “We’ll find out who did this.”

* * *

 

Alec was counting down the time until Magnus was coming back. He’d finally been left alone when the rest of the team elected to go to the hockey complex to watch the game tonight. If they left for the game, that would mean Magnus would be done with his practice soon.

“Hey, Alec.”

The only other person not at the game was Jace, and the two brothers had moved around their shared room in silence for awhile. They hadn’t spoken since the outburst in the locker room.

“What?”

Jace sighed, not making eye contact with Alec.

“Just say it, Jace.”

“I’m sorry, Alec.” Alec had expected another lecture about why it had to be Magnus, or why he was dating someone from another team. Admitting a fault usually wasn’t Jace’s style. “I shouldn’t have...said what I did in the locker room.”

“It’s okay, Jace.”

“No it isn’t.”

“Well I accept you apology anyway,” Alec said.

In the seven years since Jace had joined the Lightwood family, he and Alec never had a conversation like this. Their spats lasted maybe an hour before they both forgot about whatever they argued about, and continued on as normal. They’d always been on each other’s side. Especially when Alec first came out to his family, Jace had supported him.

Jace crossed the room and hugged his brother, and Alec returned it, thankful that this was one less thing for him to worry about.

“When we find out who did this, I’ll kick their ass for you.”

“Bold of you to assume I couldn’t kick their ass myself,” Alec replied.

“I know you could. But I’ll still do it for you.”

Their moment ended when a knock came at the door. That had to be Magnus.

“I’m going to the game,” Jace grabbed his coat. “Join us later if you want.”

Alec didn’t know if he could do that. Hiding out in the room the rest of the day had been going well for him so far. But he couldn’t do that forever.

Jace let Magnus in as he left.

“How’re you doing?” Magnus asked, making his way to Alec.

Alec gave a shrug. “Still sucks. But I’m handling it. What’d your team say?”

“That it was a shitty invasion of privacy,” Magnus replied. “That it doesn’t matter who I’m dating, it shouldn’t have happened.”

At least both the Knights and the Cyclones were on the same page with this.

“Is…” Alec trailed off, unsure how to word this. Magnus took a step toward him and placed a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Is it any easier because you were already out?”

Magnus glanced away to consider his words. “Maybe a little. But even still, whether or not you’re open about it, it should still be you telling the world who you are. Not anyone else. And it’s still terrible to have someone do _this_ …”

Alec nodded. Maybe he needed to know that Magnus wasn’t as affected as much because he wasn’t in the closet. Or maybe it was a little easier knowing he wasn’t alone, that they were in this together.

One or the other. At least Magnus was here with him in the first place.

“What do you want to do now?”

Get slammed into the boards, pull yourself back up. And your team is there to continue the fight while you pick yourself up.

“Want to go to the game with me?”

Magnus was taken aback by that suggestion. “You sure? Everyone will be there. I’d think you’d still rather stay here.”

“I’ll have to go out again eventually. I’d rather do it with you and my friends with me. If you’re okay with that too.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Snowflakes swirled around them as they made their way from the hotel to the hockey complex, accumulating on the sidewalk and letting them leave streaks of their footprints in the soft snow. Magnus had a firm hold of Alec’s hand, and it made Alec forget about the chill in the air or the slippery sidewalk, just to focus on the warm anchor Magnus gave him with a simple action.

The arena was full, and the game was just about to start the second period. An energized buzz filled the arena, with the crowd eagerly awaiting action in a currently scoreless game. A lot of green and gold sprinkled the crowd, supporters of the respective playing teams.

Alec found his teammates taking up a full back row. Everyone eagerly greeted him and Magnus, and the two of them were bombarded with highlights of the game that they’d missed already. They soon enough joined in with the energy of the crowd and applauded as the teams returned to the ice. The Cyclones were set to play the winner of this game, so Alec wanted to have a bit more interest. A nervousness still churned in his stomach, but slowly, as the game went on, the crowd kept up their excitement of the game, and knowing he had his team on one side and Magnus on the other with him, the anxiety ebbed away.

It was five minutes into the second period when he noticed, one section over, a handful of boys staring at him. Or, a better term would be _glaring_ at him with mouths curled slightly in disgust. Alec recognized the faces of the team they just played the day before, the Premier.

Magnus followed Alec’s gaze, then turned back to the game. “Just ignore it. You give yourself power over them if you don’t let them get to you.”

Alec held their gaze for another second before taking Magnus’ advice and focused back on the game.

He was picking himself back up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/true_lightwood/status/1018680515904327680)  
> and tumblr [here](http://truelightwood.tumblr.com/)  
> Again, you can use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter and tumblr!


	4. Getting Penalties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving forward from the turmoil for Magnus an Alec is easier said than done, especially after their tormentor reveals themselves and refuses to let up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning again for homophobic language in this chapter. It’s one brief moment, but you can always message me here or on twitter if you want more info before you read it.  
> I also use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter if you want to use it as well or see my updates about the fic.

“This team today is good. It will be a big challenge for us.”

The team’s eyes were trained on Luke, and everyone held their stick in one hand and their helmet in the other.  The dull commotion of the crowd out in the arena was already amping them up. They were all eager to play.

The Knights were going up against the Devils today. The Alicante Devils, already an underdog in the league and who came to some surprising wins to lead up to their place in the tournament, had already annihilated their first opponents so far. They were strong in both force and strategy, which was what Luke was focusing on so far in his pre-game pep talk. “They are good. But so are we. Everyone stay focused, play hard and this game will be ours.”

The Knights cheered, and Luke stepped aside so they could file out to the ice.  Magnus was the last one out, and Luke held out a hand to stop him before he could leave.

“Magnus,” Luke started. “I know what happened. I was speaking to the Cyclones coach last night.” That made sense. In all of the chaos of what was going on, Magnus didn’t even think of telling Luke what happened with him and Alec. Maybe he figured Raphael would fill Luke in. “The officials are looking into it.”

Magnus gave a small shrug. “That’s all we can ask for, I suppose.”

“Are you okay?” Luke asked.

Magnus had always considered his coach as not only a mentor, but also a good friend. Luke pushed the team to their full potential week after week, but cared deeply for each and every player under his charge. Magnus credited so much of his growth as a player and a person to his coach.

“I’m fine,” Magnus replied. “I just want to focus on the game for now.”

“Good.”

* * *

“If you really think about it...any one of the people here could’ve been the person who gave out your secret,” Jace remarked.

“I’m sure that’s the last thing Alec would like to think about right now, Jace,” Izzy said.

If Alec let himself think like that, that any of these hundreds of people here to watch the tournament could have been the one to take and distribute the pictures, he was sure he’d go insane. It made the prospect of finding the culprit way too big.

They were in the back row of the lower section of the arena. The crowd was already buzzing with anticipation of a good game coming up. It was an energy that Alec wasn’t quite feeding into this time, because getting outed was still weighing on his shoulders. He thought he caught a few stares as he, Izzy, and Jace walked into the complex. Some were certainly from other players from other teams knowing what happened. Others were nothing. No one had said anything though, which made him feel a little better.

Alec perked up when the doors from the locker rooms opened, and the respective teams made their way out onto the ice. The Devils were in white jerseys with red accents, and the Knights in stark contrast with their maroon colors. Alec’s eyes flicked quickly over the Knights teammates, quickly reading the last names on their backs and growing more and more concerned when he didn’t see the name ‘Bane’ right away.

“You really think it was another player?” Jace asked.

“All the players from every team are staying in our same hotel. And no one else is here in the complex when there’s just practices going on,” Alec explained. His eyes were on the ice as the players  came out and started circling and warming up. He still didn’t see Magnus though. Magnus couldn’t be sitting out this game, right?

“Makes sense,” Jace said. “There he is.” As if reading Alec’s thoughts, Jace gestured to Magnus, who was finally out on the ice with his team.

* * *

The Knights went through their usual last-minute warm up. They circled their half of the ice, some occasionally keeping Raphael on his toes by taking shots on his goal. The crowd was cheering while the announcers were going through the starting line-ups of each team.

As Magnus glided down the ice, he happened to glance up in the stands right at Alec. His boyfriend had his arms propped up on his knees, his body leaning forward slightly. Even from here, Magnus could tell Alec was nervous. There were obviously still residual nerves in Alec, and admittedly in Magnus too, after their secret got released. Going to the game the other night together helped them face the public head on again. But the nerves didn’t fully go away. At least since then, no one else had approached Alec or Magnus about the photos. Maybe all of the other teams didn’t care that much if he and Alec were dating. Maybe just the one culprit was the homophobic one, in the sea of more tolerant people. That would make things a lot easier.

The Devils on the other side of the ice were also circling their side, in the opposite direction. As Magnus passed by the red line, He caught the direct eye-contact of the Devils team captain. He vaguely remembered the name Jonathan from the opening ceremony (which was odd, because he was pretty sure a guy named Underhill was the Devils captain last year, and he didn’t think Underhill had graduated yet). But the eyes and the fiery red hair beneath the guy’s helmet definitely struck his memory. Their time passing each other felt like it slowed to a crawl, as the two players kept their eyes locked on each other. Jonathan smirked at Magnus the whole time, only forcing Magnus to return that gaze with obvious confusion.

Was Magnus just seeing things?

He circled their half of the ice again, this time skating to the middle to collect a puck. He made a quick shot on goal, which Raphael easily deflected, before Magnus joined back in to circling the ice. He was feeling good. It was the usual elated yet focused energy he felt before every game, and one that he fed off of when he could tell that his teammates were feeling the same way.

He passed the red line again. Somehow, it was again, at the same time as that guy Jonathan. As they glided past each other, Jonathan had that smirk again. Magnus was prepared to ignore it. But just before Magnus could avert his eyes, Jonathan jerked his chin upward, like he was specifically acknowledging Magnus. Another expression of obvious confusion came across Magnus’ face again, one that appeared to make Jonathan chuckle before they passed each other again.

What the hell was that?

Magnus avoided eye contact in the final few laps each team took around their half of the ice. He also didn’t look at Alec anymore. Magnus needed to focus on the game.

Luke called the full team over to the bench before they started. “Alright remember, the Devils are good, but stay focused and play hard, and this game can be ours. But,” he paused, glancing over at one of the referees on the ice. “The ref we have today is really tough. He doesn’t let anyone get away with anything. So play a clean game. The Devils can play rough, so if they get the penalties, we have the advantage there.”

The referee blew his whistle, signaling the teams into place. Luke sent the first line off to their places with a “let’s have a good game.” Magnus fist-bumped his teammates before he made his way to the center of the ice.

As his luck would have it, his opposing centermen on the Devils happened to be Jonathan Morgenstern.

At least Magnus  could take solace in the fact that if Jonathan kept up his weird little smirks and stares in his direction, Magnus spent zero amount of games looking at other players faces. Jonathan would be wasting his time trying to get into Magnus’ head during the game.

They approached from opposite sides of the center circle. Jonathan was smirking again. “Hey there, Bane.”

Magnus gave him one glance and averted his eyes. He wasn’t about to let Jonathan pull his focus from the game.

“Nice pictures.”

Magnus tightened his grip on his stick. Within a second, the referee approached with the puck. Bring on the opening face-off and get this game started already.

Jonathan and Magnus both glided up to the center, the ref at their side. The ref also took the first few seconds to make sure both teams were ready, and murmuring something about playing a clean game. Magnus and Jonathan were both ready, sticks on the ice, leaning forward ready for the drop.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jonathan look up at him. “I worked hard on those print-outs you know,” Jonathan said.

Magnus’ expression faltered. _It was Jonathan…_

The ref held the puck over the center circle.

“I didn’t want you two to have too much fun, keeping your little secret.”

Magnus hands clenched again. Just get through the face-off, start the game…

“Everyone here should know the Cyclones and Knights captains are fags.”

It was in a voice so low, Magnus was sure he was the only one who heard it, and it made all of the anger he was holding down burst out of him. He slammed his forearm into Jonathan’s chest and shoved. Jonathan sprawled backwards, eventually falling to the ice with a thud.

The anger in Magnus’ body suddenly made him feel hot, and like an electricity was going through him. He was breathing hard, his eyes on Jonathan as the guy had to pick himself back up from the ice.

Someone put a hand on Magnus shoulder and pushed him away from the circle. He only tuned back into reality when he heard the ref say “you’re out of the game.”

Magnus glanced around, his team had gathered a distance away, all of them watching him and the referee. He could hear Luke at the bench, talking to one of the linesmen about what just happened. A chattering filled the arena, the crowd certainly enjoying having seen this little incident.

“You’re out of the game, Bane. Off the ice.”

Magnus stayed where he was for a moment. Jonathan had gotten himself back up, and he was smirking again. The big shit-eating kind. He knew exactly what he’d done.

Magnus had to stop himself from shouting out an expletive as he turned around and made his way back to the locker room. He pushed past his teammates and ignored their questions about why he did what he just did.

Luke was the only one to stop Magnus before he completely left the ice. He was hanging over the boards separating the bench from the ice, his eyes pleading Magnus to explain. Magnus knew Luke would probably do anything to convince the refs to let him keep playing the game. But Luke said himself, play a clean game and the ref wouldn’t call them too harshly.

“It was him. The captain.” It was all he said before he completely left the ice.

* * *

“They’re ejecting him from the game?” Jace sounded incredulous, practically standing up out of his chair as the three Lightwoods watched Magnus leave the ice.

Alec had watched the split-second incident with shock. He’d watched Magnus several times before. He knew Magnus relied his play on tact and focus. Magnus never so much as checked anyone into the boards to get the puck, let alone shoving someone to the ice before an opening face-off even happened.

Something was up.

Alec didn’t realize he was up on his feet until he felt a tug on his sleeve. “Alec, you can’t go to the locker room. They wouldn’t let you in.”

Alec was about to protest, because he had to see Magnus. But Izzy was right. No one besides the teams using the ice at the current moment were allowed in the locker rooms.

Alec sat back down, forcing his irritation to come out only in one expletive rather than something bigger. And he resigned himself to watch the rest of the game.

* * *

As soon as Magnus got back into the locker room, he yanked off his helmet and threw it against a locker. The clang of it reverberated around the room and the helmet clattered into the corner. He started pacing around the room, his hands clawing through his hair while his thoughts were just now starting to fume with what just happened.

It was Jonathan Morgenstern. Jonathan had spread those pictures of him and Alec everywhere. He’d outed Alec to everyone here and to all the other teams, and he’s invaded their privacy. And by the smirks on his face, Magnus could assume Jonathan was enjoying every damn bit of what he’d done.

He’d done exactly what Magnus had been trying to avoid. He was supposed to just focus on the game and play. If he was playing, everything would be fine. But he couldn’t even get that far. The puck hadn’t even dropped yet when he’d pushed Jonathan.

Jonathan was a real piece of shit.

Magnus knew the point of him being ejected from the game was to teach him some kind of lesson about not aggressing out at other players anymore. But nothing inside him felt bad about what he did. He’d do the same thing again and again if he had the chance. Maybe next time he’d make sure to do it during an actual game, and within the actual rules of hockey so he could keep playing.

Magnus sat down to take his skates off. No use for them anymore now. There was a monitor in the top corner of the locker room, playing the live feed of the current game.

Maybe he didn’t feel bad about lashing out, but now that meant he had to sit here and do nothing while his team fended for themselves in the game.

* * *

Immediately after the first period ended, Alec didn’t want to watch this anymore.

Not just because Magnus wasn’t there. Because he could enjoy any game no matter who was playing. The Devils were certainly aggressors aggressors, and they used both brute and strategy to take an early lead in the first period. Even some questionable checks and maneuvers weren’t called by the referees. In fact, Alec thought he noticed several Devils plays that would’ve gotten penalties, but the referee somehow wasn’t seeing. He called enough penalties that no casual fan would notice a difference. Maybe Alec was looking too hard, and just needed an explanation for why the Knights weren’t doing so well.

As the game kept going, into the second and final periods, Knights players would get knocked down and take longer to get back up on their feet. Alec wouldn’t have called anything he just watched a clean game. Jace even made a comment about that when the game was over, and the spectators started to file out of the arena.

Alec stood up and stared at the final scoreboard. Devils 4, Knights 1. The Knights had still played a good game, but the Devils had just gotten the better of their opponent.

“You gonna go see Magnus now?” Izzy asked.

“Yeah,” Alec said.

His eyes were finally pulled away from the scoreboard when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He and Jace pulled out their phones at the same time, both with the same text from Coach Hodge. _Meet in the lobby asap. Going over strategy before tonight’s game._

“Shit,” Alec grumbled. “I forgot we had a game tonight.”

“I’ll stick around here. I’ll try to find Magnus for you. Or I’ll figure out what people are saying about the game.”

“Thanks Iz.” Jace and Alec both gave their sister a hug before heading back to the hotel.

* * *

“You left us hanging!”

Magnus looked up when he heard his team barreling into the locker room after the game. He’s successfully avoided them in the two period breaks by hiding out in the showers and bathroom. But now he had to face their music,

Raphael’s came first. He led everyone in, discarding his gear as soon as he stepped through the door. His face was scrunched up in anger as his blame at Magnus burst out.

Magnus just kept eye contact with an even expression.

“What the hell was that, Bane? You couldn’t wait another half a second before you lashed out? Take out your aggression after the game actually starts! Maybe we would’ve won!”

“You’re all perfectly capable hockey players without me!” Magnus let his voice raise. “It’s not my fault the Devils are a decent team and the ref decided to calm down and not call anything after I was out of there.”

Bat moved past Raphael. “Maybe if you didn’t rely on Magnus so much you’d actually be prepared to do the work yourself,” he muttered. That made Magnus smirk.

“ _What_ did you say?” Raphael advanced on Bat, who was usually pretty quiet and easy-going, faced Raphael with no fear in his eyes.

“Enough!”

Luke towered over the both of them. Bat was the first to break away from the situation in favor of turning to his locker. Raphael stayed a moment more, and only stepped away when Luke pushed his shoulder.

“No, the game didn’t go our way. But we’re not out of this tournament. If this was single elimination, is this the way we would want to go out? Fighting with each other after the game?”

Magnus glanced around at his silent teammates, none of them looking at Luke. Luke seemed to take that as confirmation that he was right. “We keep our heads up, we _stay a united team_ , and we keep going for our next game in a few days.”

The locker room was soon filled with the low grumblings of the players removing their gear and shuffling around to get changed. Despite the speech from Luke, the energy in the room was still low, and no one spoke a word for several minutes, until Raphael finally turned to Magnus. “You gonna tell us why you pushed Morgenstern like that?”

Magnus responded by grabbing his bag and leaving the locker room.

* * *

Alec certainly wasn’t in the best headspace when the Cyclones went up again the Flyers that evening.

He missed a few easy shots on goal, or let the puck get past him a few times. Once Jace called to Alec to get focused, which helped a little bit, but Jace and Sebastian had to pick up a bit more slack on the offensive line to make up for Alec’s subpar playing. But all that considered, the Cyclones still had a good game, and beat the Flyers 3-1.

Despite the win, Alec’s mind kept drifting back to the Knights losing their game earlier that day.It put the Knights at one more loss away from being completely out of the tournament. On one hand, that was good for the Cyclones. It meant they were closer to winning. But it could also mean Magnus and his team would be going home early. Even if they were an opposing team, Alec knew the Knights were too good of a team to leave this early from the tournament.

A text was waiting for him when the game ended. From Magnus, _Can I come to your room?_

Alec sent back a quick yes, told Jace he needed their hotel room to himself for the evening, and left the complex as quickly as he could.

Magnus was already waiting in the hallway, leaning against the wall outside Alec’s door. Without even any greetings, Alec walked right up to Magnus and pulled him into a hug. They stayed like that for a few long moments, letting the stress of the day melt away. Alec hadn’t even realized how tense he’d gotten throughout the day until this moment, when holding Magnus finally allowed him to let it go. He could feel Magnus slowly relaxing in his arms too. His boyfriend had almost certainly had a worse day than he had. Magnus needed to let this go.

Alec finally pulled away to open his door and bring Magnus inside. He sighed, tossing his key onto the desk.

“Do you want to talk about the game or…?” Alec treaded carefully. If Magnus didn’t want to talk about it now, he wouldn’t force the topic.

Magnus had his back to him, the muscles of his shoulders fitted by Magnus’ t-shirt. Alec had to take a moment to appreciate the sight of Magnus’ muscles, but it didn’t last long. Magnus turned around, looking Alec right in the eye.

“Jonathan Morgenstern was the one who took the pictures of us. And put them everywhere.”

It took Alec a few seconds to process what Magnus had said. “Jonathan…”

“He told me, right before the game started. That’s why I pushed him. I couldn’t stand his stupid fucking face and his disgusting words…” Magnus rarely swore, so it really highlighted the fact that his tone of voice was rising, his face scrunched in anger.

Alec stepped toward him, his hands resting on Magnus’ shoulders. His hands rose and fell with Magnus’ shoulders, as Magnus took a deep breath to calm himself again.

“Fuck that guy,” Magnus muttered.

This was a new territory for Alec. Thus far, he and Magnus had lived in a happy little bubble of texting, FaceTime calls, stolen glances and happy weekend lunches when they could spare the time. There hadn’t been any need to work through bouts of anger or other people’s judgements. Even when Alec insisted they keep their relationship a secret for his sake, Magnus had taken that suggestion in stride. Everything was an agreement. What was Alec supposed to say now?

“I’ll beat him on the ice for you,” Alec said. Hockey was always his answer. He wasn’t an enforcer on the ice, but he would be in this case.

“No,” Magnus replied. He tilted his head up and cupped Alec’s face gently. “You need to just play. Okay? You’re good, and your team is good. If anyone can take the Devils down a peg, it’s just a strong opponent. That's you.”

Alec gave a small smile. “You’re team could’ve done that too.”

“I know. But now it’s your turn.”

* * *

Helen needed some space.

The team had split off into their respective rooms after their loss today. While they weren’t completely out of the tournament, the loss still rocked them.  Sitting in her shared room with Maia wasn’t even helping Helen’s mind to rally back, and she had to get out for a little while.

Helen ended up at the hotel bar, sitting alone and quiet on one of the barstools. The bartender served her a Sprite and then left her alone in favor of cleaning glassware and texting on his phone. The hotel had apparently prepared for the arrival of a bunch of high school athletes, and the entire bar back had been cleaned out of alcohol. Even if Helen was of age, she wouldn’t have been able to order anything. So she settled for the soda, taking it slow every time she moved because of her sore shoulder from the game.

None of them knew the reason why Magnus had pushed the guy on the other team. But she knew Magnus would never do anything like that without reason. Helen had Magnus’ back no matter what. And after everything the Devils got away with in the game to secure their win, she wouldn’t have had a hard time believing that captain was an asshole anyway.

Someone sat down a few stools away from her. She glanced over, and saw a girl she didn’t recognize. But she knew the Cyclones symbol on her jacket anywhere. There was also an embroidered 13 and the name Penhallow on the sleeve. The Cyclones goalie. She must have just finished up a game, her dark hair was still braided down her shoulder from playing.

“How was the game?” Helen asked casually. Even if they were on enemy teams, maybe they could have some female solidarity going on here. Both of their teammates had gotten messed up because of the pictures too.

The girl stole a glance at Helen, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Not our best, but we won.”

Helen smiled, a light blush creeping up. “Nice. You guys are good.”

“Same to you.” She fully turned to Helen. “I’m Aline.”

Helen had never heard that name before, but immediately knew she liked it. “Helen.”

God, Aline was cute. But there was no way in hell that she could be of any chance for Helen. Even if by some miracle Aline was interested in women, she had to be out of Helen’s league. Or already taken.

“Shame about your game earlier this morning,” Aline said, “You guys are good. The Devils played dirty.”

“They’re assholes,” Helen said, feeling a little swell in her chest when it made Aline laugh. “Them and the Premier team.”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started on them,” Aline sighed. “They were catcalling me when we first got here. Right up until we beat them, of course.”

“God, that sucks.”

“Yeah. All this crap about ‘you looking for a boyfriend here?’ Like I'd even look in their direction. Jesus. Let’s get one thing straight here,” Aline turned to Helen again, looking her right in the eye, “I’m not.”

Helen’s breath hitched, and she spent a good moment with her eyebrows raised, her mouth open ready to say something but nothing coming out. Aline’s smile finally snapped her out of her surprise, and she couldn’t help a smile too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on twitter @true_lightwood and truelightwood on tumblr


	5. Assist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People are ready to come at Magnus and Alec from all sides, but they find out they have support, even in a couple unlikely places.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the last couple chapters, feel free to message me if you want to know about any of the homophobic language in this chapter before you read it.  
> I use the tag #CrossCheckFic when I give updates about writing, so if you want to follow that or talk about the fic at all on twitter, feel free to use it too

“What’s all this for, Luke?” 

“A coach can’t treat one of his players to lunch without getting questioned about it?”

“Normally you treat the whole team, if you really were just doing it for shits and giggles,” Magnus pointed out. 

The diner was around the corner from the hotel. In the middle of the day, the restaurant kept up a healthy bustle of customers and moving waiters. And they were extra busy with the added traffic of hungry athletes and excited tournament patrons. A dull hum filled the diner, quiet enough that Magnus and Luke could easily converse, but loud enough that no one paid any mind to them. They could have their own private conversations in the middle of a public place. 

Magnus recognized players from other teams eating lunch with each other or with their families. They’d give him a glance, one that lingered long enough for Magus to know they’d seen what happened this week with the pictures, but not long enough to indicate they cared that much. He found himself purposely glancing at a few of them, just to see if any of their expressions at him would change, or even if he’d mistaken a face, and that Jonathan Morgenstern was actually among the crowd here today. He wasn’t, and Magnus chastised himself for giving that asshole the satisfaction he probably wanted. 

“You’ve had a rough week,” Luke said. It was just the two of them in a booth, both with full coffee mugs in front of them. “Let me do something nice for you.”

Magnus smiled. “Thanks Luke.” 

“That’s my job.” Luke nodded. “Now, I know this is probably the last thing you want to talk about…”

Magnus sighed, rolling his eyes. “You’re going to ask me about the situation, aren’t you?”

“That’s also part of my job,” he replied. “So, you know it was Jonathan that spread those pictures everywhere?”

“He told me,” Magnus said, his fingers curling around the ceramic mug in front of him. He told himself to take a sip of the coffee to calm himself, but it didn’t happen. “Right before our last game. That’s why I pushed him.”

“And got kicked from the game?” Magnus didn’t respond to that, but Luke continued anyway. “Do I need to tell you that you shouldn’t do that again or have you figured that out already?”

“I think that’s the point of me getting ejected from the game in the first place,” Magnus grumbled. 

“Alright. So I’ll skip that part of my lecture,” Luke said, and Magnus couldn’t help a small smile at that. “But if you’re sure it was Jonathan Morgenstern, I can take that information to the tournament officials.”

“You think they’d actually do something about it?”

“Maybe not. They may brush it off as a personal issue, not a tournament issue.”

“Fine. We can handle it on our own.”

“Magnus…”

“I don’t want Jonathan to get any sort of satisfaction from me crying to my coach or the officials about this.” Magnus’ voice rose a bit, and he finally took a sip of coffee to center himself again.

“That mentality can be damaging,” Luke said. “Think of what he could get away with if you didn’t reach out.”

That made Magnus pause. Of course, Jonathan had already gotten away with taking and spreading the pictures. As well as getting Magnus kicked out of a game. Clearly Jonathan had a lot of power, and probably people behind him helping his scheme. Even if this issue wasn’t something the tournament officials could intervene on, having people in his corner could help him combat everything going on. 

Magnus took another sip of coffee. He faintly heard the front door jingle as it did every few minutes when someone entered and exited the restaurant. 

“Your boyfriend is really tall, right?”

“Yes, why?”

Luke smiled. “He just walked in.”

Magnus turned around, immediately seeing Alec towering over one of the hostesses. Magnus could tell even from his spot across the diner that Alec’s hair was messy and covered with that black beanie he wore often. Alec seemed to notice eyes on him, and he looked up right at Magnus and broke into a smile. He excused himself from his conversation with the hostess and made his way to their booth. 

Magnus stood as Alec walked up. “Hey wildcat,” he pulled Alec into a hug. He knew Alec wouldn’t be at a point where he was ready for any bigger public displays of affection beyond the hug. But Magnus felt a light brush of Alec’s lips on his cheek as they parted from the hug. 

“Hey,” Alec replied. 

“What brings you here?”

Alec shrugged. “I just needed to get out. I figured I’d eat something…”

“Join us,” Luke said. “Have a seat.”

“Oh, I uh, don’t want to intrude…”

“Of course you’re not intruding,” Magnus said. He sat back down and made room for Alec.

Alec sat down. HIs presence immediately lifted Magnus’ mood for the remainder of their lunch. He could tell Alec was being a bit shy, having not met Luke yet, but as the moments ticked on, he felt Alec relax and open up a bit. It helped that Luke was so personable. 

Magnus’ hand was resting on the table, right next to Alec’s hand. As the conversation flowed easily between the three of them, Magnus slowly inched his hand closer to Alec’s, eventually their hands touching. Soon Magnus’ little finger was hooked over Alec’s, and after that, part of his hand resting on Alec’s hand. Alec made no move to pull away, or made any indication that it was too much of a public display. He’d never to anything more than what Alec was comfortable with. Especially now, after Alec was forced out of the closet for the whole tournament to see. But he was proud of how Alec was taking everything in stride. Both of them were working through it all. 

* * *

“I’ll see you later.”

Alec received a text from Jace around the same time lunch was wrapping up. Finally Alec has a few weeks where he’s so close to his boyfriend and yet he couldn’t get a ton of time alone with him. 

“I’ll text you,” Magnus said. 

Alec bid both his boyfriend and the coach goodbye before heading back to the hotel, pulling his hat and jacket closer to himself as he stepped out into the cold. He had anticipated a short amount of time at the diner, maybe having a milkshake and some fries. But he was more than happy with the result. Luke seemed like a good guy, and he got to spend time with Magnus. Alec couldn’t ask for a better time. 

“Hey Lightwood!”

Alec suppressed a groan. The voice wasn’t a familiar one but it didn’t sound like a friendly one either. He put on his expression of annoyed indifference that he was pretty well known for, and turned around to see three guys coming toward him. The one in the middle immediately became familiar: the guy from their first game with the piercing and tattoos. Captain if the Premier. All three of the guys wore gray hoodies with their team insignia. And Alec thought his team was excessive with amount of Cyclones regalia they wore. He was sure the Premier team members couldn’t be caught dead in anything other than their team gear.  All of them were glaring at him, just like they were in the stands of the game a few days before. Suddenly Alec wished for there to be other pedestrians out here on the street with him, just in case he needed a witness or two. God forbid someone spend time outside when there’s snow lingering on the ground.

“Can I help you?” Alec asked, his voice cutting with an undertone of sarcasm. 

The three of them stood in front of Alec, all three of them shorter than him but acting like they were a foot taller. The one in the middle had his hands in front of him, one clutching the other like he was about to crack his knuckles.

“You think you’re so great, Lightwood,” the leader said. Alec couldn’t stop a laugh at that irony. Something in Alec told him he should be wary, but he couldn’t bring himself to get there. “I might actually respect you if you weren’t a fag.”

Alec kept an even expression despite his hatred of that word. “Well good thing I don’t need respect from you.”

The guy’s lip curled up in what looked like a snarl. He looked ridiculous, in Alec’s opinion. “You shouldn’t be here. Maybe you should just pack up your team and leave. They shouldn’t be here either if they let someone like you lead them.”

Alec glared at them. “This is a hockey tournament, not a gay tournament. Still, you guys lost against us. I think that speaks for itself.”

“Shut up, Lightgay.” 

Alec rolled his eyes and turned around to leave. Be barely got one step before a pair of hands on his shoulders shoved him forward. The ice under his feet made Alec pitch forward, but caught himself on his hands before he completely fell on his face. His knee scraped the ice, and the sting started to bloom immediately as he stood back up. He turned to face the three guys again. “What the hell was that?”

The leader was smiling. “Fight me. You think you’re so tough.”

“Talk to me again when you actually win a game.”

“Fight me right here and right now like the men you think you love so much.”

“Hey!” A voice came from behind the three Premier players. Everyone’s attention broke from the confrontation as a guy their age with blond hair approached. He was familiar to Alec, but Alec couldn’t immediately place him. And he had no discerning clothing to give away if he was affiliated with with any team. The guy placed himself between Alec and the three others. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Nothing you’re involved in, Underhill,” one of the Premier players said. 

Alec remembered this guy now. Underhill was on the Alicante Devils. In fact, Alec remembered him as the captain last year. That meant somehow Underhill had lost that title and it had been handed over to Jonathan Morgenstern. 

“Well I am involved now, and get the hell out of here,” Underhill said. 

“You’re defending this guy?” The leader asked. 

“I am. Leave.”

Alec’s eyes glanced between Underhill and the Premier players. He’d only ever interacted with Underhill on the ice. Clearly they’d never talked, but for some reason Underhill was coming in to defend him. 

“I know what you’re up to,” Underhill said. “Don’t do it.”

The three players stared at Underhill, before the one in the middle scoffed and turned to leave. They cast a few glances back at Alec and Underhill, but didn’t come back for more.

Alec sighed. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Underhill replied. “You going back to the hotel? I’m on my way too.”

“Uh, yeah,” Alec said.

They started walking again. A silence came over the two, making Alec feel a bit awkward. After a few moments, Alec had to ask, “Why did you do that for me?”

“You didn’t deserve what Jonathan did to you,” Underhill said. 

Alec knew that much. But it was still nice to hear it from a stranger for some reason. 

“If I knew what he’d been doing, I would’ve stopped it,” Underhill continued. “But if I didn’t do that, I can at least step in if someone’s going to give you a hard time.”

“Thanks for that,” Alec replied. “I do appreciate it, but I could’ve handled that.”

“Oh I don’t doubt that,” Underhill said. “But we have to stick together, right?”

“What-- oh,” Alec felt a bit embarrassed that it took him a second to realize what Underhill was saying. “You are…?”

“Gay? Yes.” Underhill nodded as they turned into the main drive of the hotel. 

“And you’re on the same team as Morgenstern?” Alec asked.

“It’s not pretty,” Underhill said. “Actually I was going to quit the team before we got into the tournament because I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. But I didn’t want him to win either.”

“I know that feeling,” Alec mused. It’s exactly how he felt now. 

The doors slid open as they approached and Alec stomped some water off of his shoes as they got inside the main lobby. Underhill continued. “Jonathan’s trying to mess with you and Magnus. And he’s got the Premier in on messing with you too. It wasn’t that hard for them to get on board, given how shitty they are as people in the first place.”

“Yeah, I got that much.” The Premier had been a stand-out since the beginning of the tournament of guys who seemed generally terrible. “I’m trying to ignore Jonathan as much as possible and just focus on hockey.”

“Good. I’d help you out more, but there’s not much I can find out about what he’s doing.”  Underhill looked right at Alec. “Don’t let him win.”

Alec nodded.

* * *

“I’m gonna kill him.”

Jace grabbed his hockey stick that was propped against the wall and started for the door. Alec grabbed the stick out of Jace’s hands before his brother could get past. “You’re not going to kill anyone."

Jace looked incredulous. “You’re telling me Morgenstern got those photos out of you, outed you, is messing with Magnus, and is turning other teams against you and you don’t want to kill him?”

“I’m not in a murderous mood, at the moment.”

Alec had arrived back to his hotel room to find it empty. As his luck would have it, Jace ane Izzy barged in as he was cleaning up the scrape on his knee. From there, he recounted what happened on his way back from the diner, and finally told them that Jonathan was the culprit all along. 

He didn’t expect Jace to have a murderous rage about it. Alec was flattered by the support from his brother, despite the violent nature of it he was opposed to. 

“Well we can’t just let him keep going,” Izzy said. 

Alec had been wrestling with this thought for a little while. His options felt like he could either stoop to Jonathan’s level, or take a high ground and keep going on as normal. Maybe ignoring all of the things going on would make Jonathan disinterested. Maybe if they tried anything in terms of revenge, they’d get caught and kicked out of the tournament. Alec wasn’t a revenge kind of guy anyway.

"Underhill mentioned that Jonathan may be planning more stuff, right?" Izzy asked.

A knock sounded, cutting off their conversation. Jace grabbed his hockey stick again and went to the door.

“Jace, it’s just Magnus.”

“You never know, Alec.”

Alec rolled his eyes. He heard Jace open the door. 

“You were right, it’s Magnus.”

Magnus brushed past Jace and immediately went to Alec. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Alec replied. He wasn’t about to have anyone fuss over what happened. 

“Alec…” Izzy looked ready to say more before Alec cut him off. 

“Can you guys just go? We’ll think of something, okay?”

His siblings grumbled about it for a few more moments as Alec kept insisting they leave. Izzy kept trying to ask him more questions about what Underhill had said, but Alec ignored them. He thought he wasn’t going to have time alone with Magnus at all. Finally he was able to get them out of the door. 

“They’re being overbearing,” Alec mumbled as he lounged back on his bed, relaxing into the silence and comfort of just having his boyfriend here with him.

“It is sweet,” Magnus replied. He was sitting on the edge of Alec’s bed and he glanced at his boyfriend. “You sure you’re alright? What happened?”

Alec sighed and re-told the story again. He could see Magnus tense when he mentioned getting pushed, or the things they were saying. But he also noticed the softer, considering expressions Magnus made when Alec mentioned Underhill’s actions.

“We play those idiots tomorrow,” Magnus said. 

“Show them who the bigger people are,” said Alec as he took Magnus’ hand in his. 

“They’ll keep trying to play their douchebag game, but we can beat them at the actual game of hockey.” Magnus chuckled. “My team isn’t ready to lose again.”

“You won’t, you guys are great.” Alec tugged Magnus’ hand. “Come kiss me you fool.”

“Well...someone’s needy.” Magnus leaned in closer to Alec’s face, a smirk in his expression.

“Can I pull the ‘I got pushed around by homophobes today’ card?”

“Not if you’re going to insist up and down that you’re fine, and say it was no big deal...are you pouting right now, Alexander?”

“Maybe...is it working?”

Magnus closed the distance and pressed a kiss to Alec’s lips. 

* * *

Magnus had possession of the puck, and while three players in silver jerseys advanced on him from all angles, Magnus’ mind was one step ahead. He cleared a pass across the ice to Maia, and just narrowly ducked around the Premier players before they could slam into him. The Knights were able to pass the puck around and keep possession from the Premier for several moments.

The clock was ticking down in the final minutes of the third period, and the Knights were up 2-0. This game was theirs, but their lead and the dwindling time on the clock meant that the Premier players were getting more aggressive. They were taking any chance they had to use force to get the puck or to take a shot on goal. Raphael easily kept their shots at bay, and the rest of the team were easily able to keep control of the game. 

Magnus swung around and watched as the puck passed between Maia, Bat, and Helen. It was teasing to the Premier, who were nearly ragged from trying to keep up and follow the puck. 

Maia brought the puck toward the Premier goal, one opposing player on her as she brought it down. Both teams were gathering in the Premier zone, and while some of the Premier players were able to intercept some passes and shots on goal, the Knights were always able to take back possession. Magnus hovered in the center of the ice, mostly watching the movement of the puck and the players around it. 

Finally, the opening came. The Premier players were split between the right and the left sides, giving him a clear shot of the goal if he could get it right. Magnus tapped his stick on the ice three times. Julian got the signal and passed Magnus the puck. Magnus swung back, and slapped a one-time shot at the goal. The puck was a blur in the air, everyone barely able to keep an eye on it as it flew past. A clang sounded as it hit the outside rim of the goal and deflected into the net. One buzzer sounded right before the other, with one more goal in the bag right as the timer and the game ended. Cheers erupted from the crowd.

A Premier player glided past him, the one with tattoos peeking out from the neck of his jersey. Magnus managed to figure out that it was one of the guys who had approached Alec yesterday. Magnus stared him down, and when the guy made eye contact, Magnus shook his head and kept his voice low enough for only the guy to hear him. 

“Don’t ever touch my boyfriend again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on twitter @true_lightwood and as truelightwood on tumblr, and using the tag #CrossCheckFic


	6. Off Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec is confident going into the game against Jonathan. Until something happens that rattles him and the Cyclones to the core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter if you want to see my updates, and feel free to use it yourself if you want to talk about the fic at all.

The Knights recent loss to the Devils, and the Cyclones last win against the Flyers had put the Cyclones and Devils up against each other in the upcoming game. Anticipation of the game seemed to be everywhere, from the players to the people who would be sitting in the stands watching the game. The front-running teams, given that neither of them had lost a game yet in the tournament, were nearly guaranteed to keep the spectators at the edge of their seats. Everyone was eager to see which team would prevail.

Meanwhile, Alec led the Cyclones through two more hard practices before the game started. While his teammates kept hounding him about what his move against Jonathan would be, like this situation was some kind of battle between the two of them, Alec focused on hockey.

That was his strategy. If Magnus could beat the Premier at the actual game, he could do the same with Jonathan. All of Jonathan’s little games couldn’t compare to actually playing a good game of hockey. That’s where he knew he and his team could knock down Jonathan and the Devils.

The crowd was cheering and the energy was at an all-time high when both teams moved out onto the ice for the game. Alec was feeling the anticipation, more so than any other game he’d played.  But he focused on their last warm ups, leading the team in circling their half of the ice. When the referee blew a warning whistle, signaling the start of the game coming up soon, Alec waved over his teammates, and they all gathered around him on their blue line.

Maybe the Cyclones could sense Alec’s anticipation or they were feeling the anticipation too. Because their eyes were glued to him as they gathered, and Jace was the first one to speak. “What’s the strategy, Alec?”

Alec nodded. “We know how to play smart. We do that. Simple.”

“But Alec…” Simon started. “You sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

They were all still watching him intently. It was at this moment where Alec realized that his teammates really wanted some kind of revenge angle to this game. But he also knew they’d listen to their captain.

“Play hockey. We can beat them at the real game. Leave their other stupid game behind. Got it?”

Some of his anticipation went away when his team nodded in agreement. They shared fist-bumps and encouraging slaps on the shoulders before parting for their positions.

Only Jace lingered for a second, turning to face Alec. “Hey, we got this. Together.” Jace held up his glove, and Alec bumped his own glove against his brother’s.

Another whistle sounded. Alec took his place on the right wing.

Jace took the opening face-off and the game started.

The game was at a high pace right from the beginning. Possession of the puck went back and forth between the teams for the first twenty minutes of the first period.  Yet the Cyclones held onto the game, and had the majority of the possession. Alec, Jace, and Sebastian were all in sync on the offense, each of them circling around each other and in tune to the plays they were trying to accomplish. Though even as they took their own shots on the Devils, goal, the Devils were able to keep their shots out.

Though on the other side of the ice, Clary and Simon both had great defensive moves, and Aline in goal helped keep the game at 0-0 by the time the third period was coming to a close.

A minute remained in the first period. Sebastian had the puck, and was bringing it into the Devils zone. Alec and Jace hovered close to the Devils goal, each of them with an opposing player on them. Alec could tell, even from twenty feet away, that Jace was itching for this game to have something exciting happen in this game. He was keeping close to the goal and constantly moving in some way.

Sebastian passed the puck to Alec, who immediately started fighting to keep it once it was his. Alec circled around the Devils goal, with a defender practically breathing down his neck the whole way. Just before he could get stuck against the boards, he passed the puck down to Jace, who had somehow gotten open for the pass. The clock was ticking down, and Jace made a break for the goal.

A Devils player was on Jace in a second, trying to shove Jace aside. Yet Jace kept the puck in his control. He was just feet from the goal now.  Alec and Sebastian were close by, but there was nothing they could’ve done to help with the defense on them and the clock so close to zero.

Jace quickly faked a shot to the left, and before the goalie could recover, he put the puck away for the first goal of the game.

The crowd erupted into a cheer as the first period came to a close. Jace sailed around the goal, pumping his fist and clearly elated to have put the Cyclones on the board first.

Alec sighed in relief as he high-fived Jace. Finally, his plan to have his team just play well was working. The real game here was hockey, and Alec couldn’t lie to himself when he noticed a little bubble of satisfaction growing in him when he glanced to the Devils bench and saw Jonathan glaring at him.

Screw that guy anyway, Alec thought. If they could keep a solid game going, they could win.

* * *

“They could win this,” Raphael said.

Magnus nodded. “I sure hope they do.”

The second period was about to begin. Magnus sat with Raphael several rows back from the ice. Some of their other teammates were surely here as well, lost among the sea of other spectators. Anticipation in the crowd was still high, yet oddly optimistic. Magnus noticed a lot of supporters for the Cyclones, and a little less for the Devils, but still a good handful. A lot of the other teams were here too, probably also very eager to see the two undefeated teams so far go head to head. Besides what might happen between the final two teams at the end of the tournament, this may be the biggest game so far.

Magnus held the little patch Alec had given him in his his hands, gently rubbing his fingers over the tight stitching making the letters.

“I’m surprised Jonathan hasn’t tried anything yet,” Raphael said. “You think he tried getting into Alec’s head like he did you?”

Magnus shrugged. “Maybe he did. But Alec is better prepared.”

* * *

When the teams gathered on the ice for the second period, Hodge gave the Cyclones a quick strategy talk, and Alec glanced over to the Devils bench. Jonathan seemed in control of the team, and was angrily speaking to his teammates. Alec smirked, and internally noted to prepare for an aggressive second period. Now that the Devils were down a point, they might try more forceful tactics.

Fifteen minutes of the second period went by much like the first.  It was a fast pace, and possession of the puck went back and forth several times. The Devils were more aggressive, as Alec anticipated, but the Cyclones were still holding on and feeling good about the game in the meantime.

He could especially feel the vibes from Jace. When Jace was feeling confident about a game, he tended to be a little more impulsive. Alec and Sebastian had thus far been able to keep him reigned in with slower and more strategic plays.

Five minutes remained in the period. Alec followed the puck with his eyes, as it was passed around between the Devils offensive line. He saw Jace out of the corner of his eye make a break for Jonathan. Jace shouldered Jonathan out of the way, toppling Jonathan to the ice and allowing Jace to take the puck. The ice was almost wide open too. Jace took advantage of the breakaway he had and sped toward the Devils goal. Alec chased after him, and the rest of the Devils players were also scrambling to get back into their own zone. The crowd was roaring.

One defender was in front of Jace, skating low and waiting for Jace to make a move. Alec knew Jace could take on one defender. But another player was coming up on Jace’s side.

“Jace!”

Jace didn’t hear him. He could see Jace trying to make a move around the defender. But he was a second too late. Both of the players were on him. The defender shoved himself into Jace from the front at the same moment the other did the same from behind.

Alec swore it all happened in slow motion. Jace was off his feet, his body going horizontal, practically tumbling through the air between the two players. Both of them moved out of the way, leaving Jace to fall in the middle of the ice. Jace rolled once more before he finally went still. The crack from his contact with the ice echoed in the arena, and the crowd gasped for lapsing into a silence.

He wasn’t moving.

“Jace!”

Alec sped toward his brother, getting down onto his knees as he approached Jace’s still form. He vaguely heard the referee halting the game, and chattering around him about what just happened.

Jace had tumbled onto his stomach. His eyes were closed, and his arm tucked under his body. His stick had snapped in half at some point. Alec was afraid to touch him in case he made anything worse, but he was sure he said Jace’s name a few more times to no avail. Jace still wasn’t waking.

The referee was in front of Alec. “I need you to step back.”

“This my brother,” Alec said resolutely.

“I understand but you need to give room for the EMTs to come in.”

Alec shuddered out a breath. He felt hands on him, and Simon and Sebastian were guiding Alec up and away from Jace. Sure enough, EMTs were on the ice and surrounding his brother. Hodge was even out there too, speaking to the refs and the medical professionals. Through all of it, Jace still didn’t move or wake up.

* * *

“What the fuck…”

Somehow the sounds of Raphael swearing next to him were helping Magnus forget the sound of Jace hitting the ice after getting checked into the air. He and Raphael had watched the whole thing unfold, and both of them jumped to their feet as it happened. Seeing the EMTs now -- who, thankfully, were on call to all of the games at this tournament anyway -- made Magnus replay Jace going airborne over and over in his head.

“What the fuck was that?” Raphael muttered again. “That looked intentional, right?”

Magnus just shook his head, unable to take his eyes off the ice. He kept glancing back and forth between the party surrounding Jace, and Alec, a few feet away. Alec had Simon and Sebastian with him, and the rest of the team gathered nearby. He’d do anything right now to be next to Alec.

Magnus saw Jonathan waiting by the Devils bench. Even from his distance, he could see a faint smirk on Jonathan’s face.

* * *

“They’re taking Jace to the hospital right now,” Hodge said.

A heavy silence hung over the team. They’d all watched the aftermath unfold: the EMTs coming onto the ice, fussing over Jace’s lifeless body for a few minutes before rolling him onto a stretcher and getting him off the ice. Meanwhile, the refs reviewed the play a few times to determine what exactly happened, and subsequently took the two Devils players who’d done it, two guys named Raj and Jordan, out of the game. Even after watching all of this happen, it wasn’t until their coach was telling them that Jace was going to the hospital that it made it all real.

Alec couldn’t make eye contact with any of his teammates. He was sweeping through quick waves of anger and being worried for his brother. How he was supposed to get through the rest of the game was anyone’s guess.

Emma Carstairs took over Jace’s position. She was a good player for a freshman, and used her small stature to her advantage. But she was much more fiery and impulsive than Jace was. And in the final few minutes of the period, Alec and Sebastian has a hard time working with her to hold onto the game. That and the rattling the team felt with Jace’s injury led to Jonathan scoring against the Cyclones in the last minutes of the second period. Jonathan returned to the locker room in the break between periods with a smug expression, one that made Alec want to punch Jonathan for about the fourth time in a week.

He checked his phone in the break. Izzy and Maryse had gone to the hospital, but so far they’d sent him no updates.

* * *

“They’re going to lose,” Raphael said, his eyes trailing after the puck in the final period.

“Don’t say that. They could still have this,” Magnus replied. Though it was deep back in his mind, there was that small urge to say that Raphael was right. The worrying of his fingertips over the patch in his hands had picked up in pace. Magnus caught himself doing that a few times. If the game went on long enough, he was sure some of the threads would start popping out.

The Devils had scored again in the first few minutes of the third period. Being down by one point wasn’t much in the grand scheme of the game. But it was obvious the Cyclones were still rattled from watching one of their best players go down, and they were struggling to regain a composure. Alec especially. The fast pace of the game suddenly looked like it was weighing down on the Cyclones. Meanwhile, the Devils seemed to be playing off of some sick satisfaction that they got Jace out of the game the way they did.

“You know as well as I do,” Raphael continued, his voice lowering just a bit, “that Jace getting hit like that was planned.”

The buzzer sounded once again, signaling another goal scored from the Devils. By none other than Jonathan Morgenstern again. The crowd’s cheers were noticeably more quiet when the Devils scored than when the Cyclones did earlier. Did they feel bad because they’d all watched what the Devils had done to Jace? Or did the Cyclones already have the popular support? Alec glided past the celebrating team. The forlorn look on his boyfriend’s face made Magnus feel a crushing feeling in his chest.

“I think that Jonathan knows exactly where to hit at people where it’ll hurt them the most,” Raphael said. “Getting you out of the game with a few words was just the beginning. This was the next step.”

Magnus was about to dismiss Raphael’s claim as just a conspiracy. But something in him was willing to consider that Raphael was right.

* * *

The Cyclones lost 3-1. When the final buzzer echoed through the arena, Alec’s knees gave out. He sunk to all fours on the ice, breathing heavily from his last final push at the end of the game. His brow was sweating and his muscles radiated a dull ache from the exertion he’d just put himself through. But what got him was the weight of the thoughts swirling in his head. The fact that they couldn’t come back for a win, the fact that they were now one loss away from being out of the tournament. Jonathan had gotten to them…

Jace.

“Alec?”

Clary had come up to him, her arm extended to help him up. He hesitated a moment before taking her hand and getting himself up from the ice. The team let him beeline for the locker room first, and he rinsed off in a quick shower before throwing on his clothes haphazardly. Hodge was giving him a ride to the hospital, and when Alec checked his phone for updates on the way there, there was only one text from Magnus instead.

_Hope Jace is okay. Call me if you need anything._

A little bit of the weight on his mind disappeared.

* * *

It was around midnight when Magnus finally got a text back from Alec. He wasn’t thinking he’d get constant updates from his boyfriend, but it was a relief to see Alec reaching out to him.

Magnus was waiting outside of Alec’s hotel room for a few minutes when Alec rounded the corner and came down the hall. His hair was disheveled and his posture sagged slightly. Without even any kind of pretense, Magnus closed the distance between them and pulled Alec into a hug, and he immediately felt Alec melt against his body.

They stood there for several long moments, Magnus holding Alec in his arms, nothing around them except for the hum of the heaters. Soon enough, Magnus pulled away. “Do you have your room key?”

“Uh, yeah…” Alec fumbled into his pocket and pulled out the card, letting both of them into the room. Alec dumped his bag against the wall. He ran his hands through his hair and practically fell onto the edge of his bed.

“How’s Jace?” Magnus finally asked.

Alec sighed, his voice quiet when he started speaking. “He has a broken collarbone and a mild concussion…”

“That doesn’t seem so bad...”

“Mom told me about how Jace woke up in the ambulance,” Alec continued. “And he said he couldn’t feel his legs.”

Magnus barely knew Jace, yet that statement hit him like a train. Everyone had seen him twist around in the air after getting hit, but had Jace really gone down that hard?

“They’re going to figure out more in the morning. Jace is out for the night,” Alec said. He looked away from Magnus, at Jace’s bed. While the lamps illuminated a warm glow in the room, Alec sat in the one corner of the bed cast in a shadow.  “What am I gonna do?”

Magnus stepped toward Alec, sat down next to him and put a hand on Alec’s shoulder. “Concussions and broken bones can heal. And you said the doctors are going to find out more in the morning. Spinal injuries are...fickle, so to speak.” Magnus felt Alec flinch at the words, and he squeezed Alec’s shoulder. “Nothing is set in stone. Jace will be okay.”

Alec remained quiet for a while. Magnus wondered if he was supposed to keep talking.

“I can’t play without him,” Alec finally murmured.

Magnus furrowed his brow. “Yes you can. You played without him today.”

“We lost, Magnus.”

“You’re still a good player with or without Jace on the ice with you.”

“He’s my brother…”

“That didn’t change when he got knocked out.” Magnus stopped himself to regroup the conversation. “Alexander, look at me.”

When Alec hesitated, Magnus cupped Alec’s cheek and guided his face around to look in his eyes. “You’re used to playing with him. I understand that. But you’re more than just your partnership with your brother on the ice and you don’t quit because of this. You have too much potential and I won’t let that happen.”

Magnus saw the glimmer in Alec’s eye that hinted Alec was taking in what Magnus was telling him. Magnus kissed Alec’s forehead.

Alec visibly relaxed next to him. “Will you stay here with me tonight?”

“Of course.”

They quietly got ready for bed. The exhaustion seemed to finally hit Alec now, as it did for Magnus too. Magnus knew they could both think a little clearer after they got some rest.

Alec curled up under the blankets, and Magnus slid in behind him and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend.

“I love you, Magnus,” he heard Alec murmur.

Magnus gave a small smile. “I love you too.”

* * *

Magnus played an early game the next day against the Flyers. The team was still riding a high off their win against the Premier, and partially fueled by rage against the Devils. The Flyers were a worthy opponent, but the Knights took the lead in the second period and held onto it through the end of the game.

The Knights were back. And despite their loss a few days prior, they were back on track to getting to the end of the tournament. Possibly even coming out as winners.

The Devils would be the team to beat by the end. Magnus knew that. And he was ready.

On his way out of the complex, he passed by a TV screen that cycled through information about the tournament, including when the next games were, information about the teams, and most importantly, the bracket with the tournament progress. The screen flashed to the updated image of the bracket as Magnus passed. And the updated information made Magnus stop.

Of course he could’ve inferred this based on how the tournament had been going so far. And it was bound to happen at some point. It shouldn’t have been a shock. But staring at these team names now made Magnus’ stomach sink.

The Cyclones had been bumped down to the losing bracket. They were now going to face the next best team in that bracket. Which was the Knights.

Magnus would be playing against Alec in just a couple days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me @true_lightwood on twitter (where I'm most active) and truelightwood on tumblr!


	7. Power Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the major injury in the previous game, somehow the tournament has to keep going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for bearing with me while there was a delay in my updating!  
> As always, I use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter to give updates. You can use it too if you want to talk about the fic!

Alec had a good excuse for ignoring the obvious.

The obvious being that the Knights were currently playing a game against the Flyers that they were sure to win. And that when they did win the game, that meant that the Cyclones would go head to head against the Knights in the next game. The inevitable was surely going to happen now. He and Magnus hadn’t even brought up the subject of playing each other at all during their time at the tournament. Maybe they’d both been too naive or even too wrapped up in everything else going on to realize it until the last minute. His excuse being that his brother was just put in the hospital with serious injuries. It was a good excuse in his opinion.

Before Magnus had left for the game and Alec for the hospital, Alec had felt bad that he was missing Magnus’ game. Magnus had understood as usual, and told him to go be with his brother instead. Alec internally was grateful he wasn’t at the game anyway. He’d have to really face the reality of playing against his boyfriend then.

Alec rounded a corner, and headed for Jace’s room four doors down the hall.  Just before he got to the room, his mother stepped out, shutting the door behind her. She seemed started to see him at first, before she smiled. “Hi sweetheart,” Maryse said.

Alec hugged her. “Hey. How’s Jace doing?”

Maryse took a quick, deep breath, like she was trying to compose herself. Alec was sure she’d spent the night here with Jace, and she’d sent him and Izzy back to their respective hotels. “He woke up this morning and had some feeling back in his legs.”

Alec sighed, relief flooding over him. Magnus was right after all. “Really?”

Maryse nodded. “He doesn’t have full function and the doctors still want to do a few tests. But things already look better.”

Alec kept his eyes on his mother. There was a glisten in her eyes, and she was curling her lips in toward her mouth. He knew her well enough to ask, “Are you okay, Mom?”

If Maryse Lightwood was anything, she was always composed. She kept track of all of their games and made sure her kids made it to school. Even during the divorce process, she kept her cool. Only now did Alec see his mother’s composure fall, even if it was just for a split second. A tear fell down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away. “I always knew hockey was a violent sport. I know you two have been hurt before. But this… I can barely handle this happening to Jace and I keep thinking it could happen to you too. I’m this close to pulling Max off his team…” Their youngest brother had just started on the peewee team. He’d been eager to play hockey as long as Alec could remember. Max wanted to be just like his older brothers. “I can’t handle watching my children get hurt and being in a hospital and being helpless...”

Alec cut her off when he pulled her into another hug and he held her there for a few moments as she cried softly. Alec was sure his mother knew nothing of what was happening with Jonathan Morgenstern. It wasn’t hockey that had taken Jace out, in a sense. It was another person. Alec wrestled with the thought of telling his mother the truth here. Or if he should just continue to leave her in the dark.

“There’s a player on the Devils who’s really rough. He’s been out to get other players since the beginning. He got my boyfriend kicked out of his game last week.”

Maryse pulled away to stare at Alec. Despite his mother’s surprised expression, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “By the way Mom, have I mentioned I’m dating Magnus Bane?”

“No you haven’t mentioned that Alexander!” Maryse hit Alec’s shoulder, his laugh finally eliciting her smile. “When did this start? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Mom,” Alec took her hands in his, “I will tell you all about him, but please go back to your hotel and get some sleep first.”

“I don’t want to leave Jace.”

“Izzy and I are here with him. We’ll call you when the doctors want to do the tests. But you need some sleep.”

Maryse resigned to Alec’s suggestion. With one more parting hug and ‘love you’s’ exchanged, Maryse left. Alec waited until he saw her disappear around the corner before he went into Jace’s room.

Bright rays of sunlight were coming in through the window, lighting up Izzy’s dark hair from her place in the chair on the other side of the room. Her feet were propped up on the edge of the bed as she flipped through channels on the TV in the corner. Jace was lying back in the bed, his left arm encased in a sling. Alec was relieved to see that Jace’s toes were indeed moving under the blankets. Thank God.

Jace’s movements were slow, but he turned his head and smiled when he saw Alec. “Hey man.”

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Feeling like I’m going to be sick of that question very soon.”

So Jace was feeling better.

“I heard we lost,” Jace said. Alec sighed. On top of all the bad news Jace was getting, their loss in the game certainly didn’t help. Though Alec was a little grateful he wasn’t the one delivering that bad news. “You guys are playing the Knights tomorrow.”

Alec felt his stomach drop a little hearing Jace no longer refer to himself as on the team. Alec wasn’t ready to resign himself to that fact. Or the fact that they had to play the Knights either. Alec took a seat in a scratchy chair next to the bed. “Yeah, we do.”

“What’s that feeling like?” It was Izzy who asked.

Alec shrugged. “It was going to happen eventually. We just ignored it until now.”

“Well you had other shit going on, didn’t you?” Jace said. Frustration was growing in his voice, and Alec knew it wasn’t because of the present conversation. “The Devils are assholes.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Izzy commented. She’d turned off the TV and now faced her brothers. “This wasn’t an accident.”

Alec glanced down at Jace, specifically at his legs, then letting his eyes trail up to the sling. Of course it wasn’t an accident. But maybe Alec didn’t want to accept that Jonathan could stoop this low.

“Why would he do any of this though?” Alec asked. “Just to mess with me and Magnus?”

“I don’t know,” Izzy said. “But messing with you two is getting him to the front of the competition, isn’t it?”

Izzy had a point.

“What’s anyone supposed to do though?” Jace tried to shift, his face scrunching in pain as he did so. “Would any of the tournament officials believe us if we said this was all on purpose?”

“They need a good reason to believe it…” Izzy’s voice trailed off.

There was a pause, then Jace spoke again. “Alec?”

Alec met Jace’s gaze. “Yeah?”

“Kick their asses for me.”

Alec smiled. “Alright, cake eater.”

* * *

The update that Jace was doing better gave the Cyclones a positive energy that drove them through a good practice that night. They were in seemingly good spirits when they left the ice. Alec tried his best to match their positive spirits. But when they left the ice and he told them he’d catch up with them later, he was left alone on the ice with the feeling of emptiness in the pit of his stomach. As much as he was trying to internalize Magnus’ words to him from last night -- that he was a good player without Jace here with him -- he couldn’t shake that feeling that he was missing something.

He and Jace had played together since they were ten years old. Hockey had always been a big deal in their town, and Robert and Maryse needed some way to keep their two very active sons busy. They’d been hurt and bruised before. But never like this. It was never up in the air as to whether one of them could even play the game again.

Alec gathered one of the pucks that were still scattered about the ice. He went slow at first, circling around the goal and skating to the center of the ice. He glanced up at the empty goal, then gathered speed, still handling the puck in front of him with ease. The goal was getting closer and closer, but suddenly the image of Jace getting hit on both sides flashed in his mind, and he could hear his brother making contact with the ice as if he were there watching it again. Alec skidded to a halt and shot, the puck sailing a few feet wide of the goal.

Alec swore at himself and went for the same thing again, banishing the thought of jace’s injury from his mind. His focus had to be on the game, the players he’d face, and the moves that were ingrained into him. He circled one of the goals with the puck, and headed down the ice. He passed the blue line, deked once, twice, before putting the puck away into the corner of the goal.

He did it again. And again.

He’d lost track of how many times he’d run himself through this drill, but since the first, he hadn’t missed a single one of his shots. Everything else in his mind had faded away. And all there was was him and the ice.

“Having fun, Lightwood?”

Alec sighed, all his focus gone as he turned to the voice coming from one of the team benches. Jonathan had his hands braced on the rail, the signature smirk that Alec knew well by now plastered on his face.

“Can I help you?” Alec’s voice was cutting.

Jonathan leapt over the rail. For some reason, the bastard already had his skates on. “Oh don’t mind me. I’m just watching you practice.” Alec noted Jonathan’s ‘don’t mind me’ as a complete contradiction to the attention he was so clearly enjoying.  “Still upset about your loss?”

Alec scowled. He moved closer to Jonathan. “At least I can play without sending someone to the hospital.”

“Really?” Jonathan tilted his head. “Well, maybe you can play. But not well, clearly. I’m eager to see you go against your boyfriend. He certainly doesn’t date you for your hockey ability.”

Alec knew what Jonathan was doing. This was the game the entire time, to get under his skin and to hit them where it hurt the most, all just to boost himself up in this tournament.

“Play me right now.”

Alec had the smallest burst of satisfaction when he saw Jonathan taken aback by that request. “Play you?” Jonathan chuckled. “You may have forgotten, we already played. You lost, remember?”

“Of course I remember,” Alec replied. “What? Scared you can’t beat me unless you send someone on my team to the hospital again?” There was no one else here that Jonathan could mess with to get under Alec’s skin. He had nothing to lose right now either. “You beat me once, try again.”

He noticed Jonathan prickle. “Fine.”

* * *

Alec glided up to the center of the ice, clenching and unclenching his hand around his stick.

He had Jace in his mind. Not the Jace that tumbled through the air, or went unconscious on the ice. But the one he left in the hospital a few hours before. With a murky future in the sport they both loved. The one who told him to kick Jonathan’s ass. He thought of Magnus, who had been thrown into this stupid situation with him and their pictures getting leaked to every other team.

Jonathan stared him down, but Alec’s head was finally clear.

They both knocked their sticks on the ice three times, then swiped for the puck.

Alec won the face-off and made for Jonathan’s goal. Jonathan’s presence was right on him, and he pitched forward when Jonathan’s stick hooked around his ankle. Alec stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. He lost possession of the puck and raced after Jonathan back down the ice. Alec knew now that playing the game the way it should be played hadn’t worked. Not in the last game, and it clearly wasn’t working now. Not against someone who wasn’t playing by the rules anyway. Alec knew he’d have to break his form to come out on top.

Jonathan scored the first goal. But Alec wasn’t wavered. They faced off again, and when Jonathan won and tried to push past Alec, Alec shoved his shoulder first and knocked Jonathan off his feet. A move that certainly would’ve landed Alec in the penalty box or off the ice if he was actually in a game. The puck was his, and he broke away down the ice to score the first goal for himself.

Another face-off. Jonathan won, and got past Alec to make his way to the open goal. Alec stayed on him and went down, sliding feet-first into Jonathan. Jonathan went down as soon as Alec deftly pulled himself back to his feet, the puck in his possession again for him to score one more goal.

A seething, overcome Jonathan tried more aggressive or quicker tactics, of which Alec was ready for. They kept it up with time stilling around them. Back and forth on the ice, swerving and swiping at each other. Their skates sliced snow into the air, their sticks clacking against the ice as they made their plays. The fatigue came to Alec in the moments where they paused, but he pushed them down to focus on their little game instead.

For Jace. For everything this guy had done to Magnus. He could end this now.

Alec scored again, and again. And he noticed quickly that Jonathan couldn’t keep up. His shots on the open goal sailed wide, or ricochet off of the cross beam. His plays weren’t nearly so advanced as even some of the other teams that Alec and the Cyclones had bested.

“Do you even play hockey?” Alec asked after scoring another goal. Admittedly, the glow of a clear win for him was coming to his head. But he knew to reign it in once the play needed to start again.

Alec scored his fifth shot and glided around the goal. Jonathan was twenty feet away, and even under the visor of his helmet and gear he had on, Alec could see the heavy and laboured breathing coming from his opponent.

“It’s true,” Alec called over to Jonathan, “You can’t win so you resort to dirty play instead.”

Jonathan skated toward Alec. “Ends justify the means, Lightwood.”

Alec didn’t dare divert his eyes. “What are your means then, Morgenstern? Fuck with me and Magnus? Hurt my brother in the process?”

“Gays don’t last in this sport. I made sure of that. Underhill was a coward. I’m happy he quit today. You and Bane should follow suit. Or join your brother in the hospital. Maybe you’ll say hi to him for me when I’m the one on the winner’s podium at the end.”

“No.” Alec tossed his stick to the side and threw off his gloves. He planted himself inches from Jonathan, staring down at the guy who’d tormented him for day now. “You’re done with this shit. You’re not going to scare me or Magnus into quitting. I’m done with that.  You may not pay for what you did to Jace but this shit you’re doing, it’s over.”

“Is it, Lightwood?”

“I’ll make sure it’s over, Morgenstern.”

“Hey!”

Both of their heads snapped sideways. It took Alec a second, but he soon recognized the man calling to them from the sidelines as one of the linesmen who officiated their games. “What the hell is going on here?”

“Nothing,” Jonathan replied.

The man waved his hand. “Both of you, get the hell out of here. Don’t be in here unless you’re with your teams or coaches.”

Jonathan left in a hurry, but not before muttering as he skated past Alec ‘enjoy your game tomorrow. I’m sure you and Bane will have an interesting time.’ Alec made sure he was seeing cleaning up the pucks left scattered around the ice before he left as well.

He’d meant what he said. Alec was done with Jonathan’s games. He was done hiding and letting Jonathan win.

He and Magnus would end this. They still had to play each other, but one of them had to go against the Devils again.

* * *

 

The linesman’s interruption of their little game on the ice turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The more Alec thought about it, the more he could see an actual fight breaking out between them. With Alec’s luck and Jonathan’s manipulation skills, Alec saw himself being kicked out of the tournament (or even his whole team) while Jonathan would get to walk free.

“I hate him so fucking much.”

“I share the sentiment, darling. But you’ve said that about five times since you got back.”

Alec glanced down at Magnus. His boyfriend had one leg crossed over the other, an arm extended over the back of the couch he was perched on. Leave it to Magnus to make even hotel lobby couches look like they belong in a modeling agency.

“I refuse to let him win this thing,” Alec said with a sigh.

“Again, I feel the same,” Magnus replied. He motioned for Alec to sit next to him and Alec couldn’t help but oblige. “Whichever one of us wins our game tomorrow has to play the Devils again.”

Alec paused before resting his hand on Magnus’ knee. “How’s that going to go?”

It was Magnus’ turn to sigh. “Like any other game, I’d say. We’re both professional when it comes to playing.”

Alec nodded. “Let’s have a good, clean game,” he said. Though their little agreement didn’t do much to assuage his nervous energy for what tomorrow would bring.

Magnus leaned in and kissed him. Still, no one in the lobby paid them any mind. The two of them had their own business while everyone else went about theirs.

Alec was smiling when the kiss broke. “Whoever wins, win the whole tournament.”

“I like the idea of that.”

* * *

 Helen had spent a good portion of her nights sneaking out of her room to go visit Aline two floors down. It wasn’t always easy, mostly because she spent a fair amount of time with her younger brother Julian, and he was very observant. But even he didn’t notice. No one on her team were any the wiser.

“Straight people really are oblivious sometimes,” Aline said. Finally Helen understood that sentiment.

Helen didn’t have an exact label for what was going on between her and Aline -- maybe they were just enjoying what was happening, and waiting until the tournament was over to define their relationship. Whatever it was, Helen was enjoying it. A lot. Aline was self-assured and confident, nearly a complete contrast to Helen’s more soft-spoken temperament. But they’d hit it off immediately. Helen had never been so happy in her past flings and relationships than she was with Aline right now.

The idea that they had to play each other in the game tomorrow had thrown both of them for a loop.

Aline had been laying next to Helen, Helen’s arm tucked under Aline’s back and both of them encompassed in a slightly uneasy silence, when Aline rolled over and propped herself above Helen. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Let’s just play a good game tomorrow, okay?” Aline said. “There’s no reason some stupid hockey game could mess this up.”

Helen hadn’t realized that Aline had felt the same, that feeling that their thing would be messed up because of a game. “I agree.” She nodded.

Their lips connected in a soft kiss.

Aline let it linger before she said with a sly smile, “Can’t wait to see you in action tomorrow.”

Helen chuckled. “Can’t wait to score against you,” she teased.

“You wish, sweetie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter to give updates. You can use it too if you want! Find me on twitter @true_lightwood, and truelightwood on tumblr  
> At the end of the first scene, Alec calls Jace “cake eater.” Bonus points to anyone who knows what that reference is from :)


	8. Face Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game that both teams had ignored is finally upon them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Kudos to those who got my vaguely obscure Mighty Ducks reference in the last chapter.  
> -As always, I use the tag #CrossCheckFic when I give updates and sneak peeks about the fic, feel free to use the tag as well.

The previous season, the Knights hadn’t made it to the regionals tournament, but their final game was going to clinch a conference title for them. Magnus skated out onto the ice for that game with the stands full and alive. It looked like half of their small town of Brooklyn had traveled the hour to that arena just to see the Knights play. The energy from that crowd grew as that game wore on, right until the final buzzer, signaling the Knights win of the conference title.

No one ever really talked about the euphoria from support that carried players through their games.

Today it was the first time Magnus was going into a game with spectators packed into the stands, a sea of respective navy and maroon colors for each team, where he didn’t have a confident energy going through him.  It should just be a normal game. That’s what he and Alec agreed on. But it felt like it was the biggest game of his life. This was make or break for both his team or his boyfriend’s team, the winner would be sent to the finals of the tournament. And both him and Alec had been through more than enough shit in the past two weeks for a lifetime.

Anyone who thought this game was no pressure was lying through their teeth.

Magnus sought comfort in taking his team through their normal last-minute warm ups before the game. The familiar motions kept his mind centered, and he could feel the same from his teammates as well. He could always count on them to be well prepared for the games. He registered the mass of navy jerseys on the other side of the ice. Any time Magnus was close to making eye contact or reading a name on the back of one of their jerseys, he would quickly avert his eyes. He wouldn’t let Alec get in his head.

The referee blew his whistle. The Knights huddled for one last “let’s play a good game” pep talk from Luke, before the starting lineup took their positions. Magnus skated to the center, facing off against a small blonde girl with a fierce look in her eyes.

Magnus was ready.

And the puck dropped.

* * *

Try as he might, Alec couldn’t keep his gaze off Magnus.

Even in the stimulating environment, with the roar of the crowd, the clacking and slicing of the skates and the sticks on the ice, and every other player on the ice with him, Alec was still very aware of Magnus’ presence.

Alec sighed as he took his position on left wing for the opening face off. Just another game...

Magnus won the face off with a well-timed flick of his stick, sending the puck behind him. Bat collected it and took his time bringing it forward into Cyclone territory. The Knights kept possession of it as the game ticked into the opening minute, keeping the Cyclones constantly floating in the defensive position.

Alec noticed Magnus on the opposite side of the ice, somehow his boyfriend was standing out in the sea of others decked in the same gear. If only it were simple enough to lose track of where his love was on the ice. Not so simple at all. Damn the universe.  

Suddenly Magnus’ eyes locked on Alec, and the two of them paused as the action around them lulled to a slower pace. His expression one of sheer focus. Alec knew that expression well by now and thought at least Magnus was able to focus a little better right now then he was.

Their gazes were locked and lingered for a few moments, until Magnus was the one who broke it.

He smirked.

Alec faltered when he saw the corner of Magnus’ lip quirked up, his eyes still right on Alec. And suddenly Magnus was gone, taking off down the ice and collecting a pass from a teammate. It snapped Alec back into the game when Magnus tried to make a long shot on goal. Aline quickly blocked it.

 _I love that little shit_ , Alec shook his head.

At least, Alec now noticed, that helped his nerves relax a bit.

* * *

The game was keeping the crowd on the edge as much as it kept the players on edge. Turnovers between the teams happened rapidly, and shots on goal were quick and smart. But each shot was met by good defense from the opposing team. Both the Cyclones and the Knights played well, the teams very evenly matched.

So evenly matched that as the second period came to a close, the game was still at a nail-biting 0-0.

Every good play was met equally. Every shot on goal blocked. Both Luke and Hodge gave their respective teams strategies and pep-talks to get the edge.

“Play a little harder and we can win,” Raphael said in the locker room after the second period. “Don’t hold back just because his boyfriend is on the other team.”

“You think we’re holding back?” Maia sounded incredulous. “That’s rich when you stand in one spot the whole game.”

“I have--”

Raphael was cut off by Luke. “Stop. We’re not doing this right now. And no one’s been holding back. The Cyclones are our best matched team. We knew this.”

Luke was right. They should have all remembered that. But the mess of everything else that was happening had clouded that fact.

Magnus ran a hand through his hair, and it came away soaked in his sweat.

“We keep playing hard, something will give. We haven’t been holding back and we don’t start now.”

* * *

“Keep playing hard.”

It was the same advice Hodge was giving the Cyclones between periods as well. Alec internally wrestled with the idea that they should break form, and maybe play a little more dirty to get the leg up. But he thought of checking Magnus into the boards, or even hurting any of Magnus’ friends put Alec off. The Knights were good so far without playing dirty. The Cyclones could do the same.

The third period continued on, and with just a few minutes left in the game and the score still nil from either team, there were murmurings that the game would go into overtime. Unless some kind of upset happened in the last few minutes, overtime was imminent.

Sebastian sent a pass, and as Alec collected it, he looked up to the action around him. They were in the Knights zone. Everyone was moving, the Cyclones trying to set up to make a goal and the Knights in tight defensive positions to block. Someone from the Knights came up to challenge Alec for the puck. Alec hit it across the ice to Sebastian before anyone could take it from him. Alec was far from where he should be -- right in the middle of the action and ready to score. He backed himself up to the blue line and tried to find his opening.

He watched as Sebastian passed to Emma, who would have had a good shot on goal from the center. But another player was faster. A girl from the Knights -- Helen, Alec was pretty sure that was her name -- cut between Sebastian and Emma, deflecting the puck out of Emma’s reach. It flew toward the blue line, and a Knight player on Alec’s left was able to collect it and had a clear shot to the Cyclones end of the ice. It had been the perfect play, really. The Knight got the puck when he was open and able to split any defense the Cyclones had hanging back.

It was Magnus.

Alec tore after him. A burn radiated in his quads, screaming at him after the exertion of the game. But he pushed through it and caught up to Magnus.

The crowd was standing and cheering at the action, as Alec caught up and nearly ran into Magnus. Their shoulders jostled together, Alec reaching for the puck but Magnus deftly keeping it out of Alec’s reach. Alec leaned into Magnus, trying to get Magnus off balance to give up the puck, but he was only met with the same force and Magnus trying to push Alec off of him.

The Cyclones goal loomed closer as they sped down the ice. Alec’s feet knocked into Magnus’ skates, their sticks clacking against each other as they practically became tangled in front. All the while Magnus kept possession of the puck. They were a few yards away from the goal.

In a last ditch effort to throw Magnus off of this breakaway, Alec lunged forward, reaching his stick across and toward the puck. There was a series of moves from Magnus that Alec didn’t follow, because the lunge finally threw Alec off balance, and he fell over his feet. He felt Magnus come down with him.

The momentum propelled them forward. Alec felt the pole from the goal slam into his back and slide away. Magnus and Alec finally stopped when they slid right into the boards behind the goal.

Alec groaned and didn’t move, keeping his eyes closed while the adrenaline in him was subsiding, leaving only the soreness creeping up in his body. Magnus was moving on top of him, trying to untangle himself from their mess.  He vaguely registered the sound of a buzzer blaring.

“Alec? Are you okay?” Magnus sounded worried. A glove rested on Alec’s shoulder and shook him slightly.

Alec blinked his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was Magnus hovering over him, blaring fluorescent lights overhead haloing his boyfriend.

“I’m great,” Alec replied.

Magnus chuckled, confirmed he too was good, and moved so Alec could sit up. It was then finally that the rest of the world came back to him. The goal had been knocked out of its place, and Aline was just pulling herself up from the ice. Alec hadn’t realized he’d caused this much chaos in one second. Meanwhile the crowd was still up on their feet. But it wasn’t the normal cheering Alec was hearing from them. It was a strange mix of cheers and yelling. He was definitely hearing a lot of yelling…

Suddenly Simon and Sebastian were over him and pulling him back up to his feet. Magnus’ teammates had also crowded around him, breaking up their little moment alone. Simon was furiously asking if Alec was okay while Sebastian’s hand was still on Alec’s shoulder.  

“I’m fine,” Alec muttered. He looked around. People in the stands were still up and causing commotion, and Alec noticed the ref and the linesmen off to the side of the ice, huddled together. “What’s going on?”

“They’re reviewing the play.”

Alec happened to glance up at the scoreboard.

**Knights - 1, Cyclones - 0.**

Magnus had scored.

* * *

The pause in the gameplay lasted just a few minutes. The refs reviewed the play to make sure that the puck crossed the goal line before the net was knocked out of place. If it did, the goal stood. If not, the game would definitely go into overtime.

Magnus insisted he was fine after that play. He’d probably feel the soreness tomorrow. He could tell even from this distance that Alec was saying the same thing to his own coach. Magnus imagined that after what happened with Jace, the Cyclones weren’t too eager to see Alec take a fall like he just did.

In the end, the refs upheld the call, and the Knights were officially up by one point with just a few minutes left in the game.

Magnus and his teammates had a belated celebration of their goal. There was a specialized energy to their celebration, given that they were inevitably going to win now.

The game continued. And while the Cyclones tried their best to come back right at the last minute, the final buzzer sounded, giving the Knights the victory.

* * *

_Izzy: If you ever make a play like that again, I will personally kill you, resurrect you, then let mom kill you again._

Alec had returned to the locker room to see that text from Izzy. Admittedly, it did lighten his mood coming out of their loss in the game. He didn’t even know Izzy had been in the stands watching. He could only imagine what it was like to see Jace go down, and then Alec just a game later.

_Alec: I feel loved._

The team hung around in the locker room for a while after the game. Hodge came in and gave a speech about how proud he was of them, and how well they played. That their time in the tournament was over, but they made it far and played well. It was enough to make Clary emotional, and she laughed at herself when the team hugged her. At least this wasn’t completely the end. They still had games in their regular season together.

After that, Alec could face the reality that he was graduating from high school and moving on from the Idris Cyclones.

He’d cross those emotions when he got to them.

“Alec,” Aline caught his attention, “come on.”

The team filed back out onto the ice. The crowd had long cleared out, leaving the Cyclones to their own devices on the ice.

By the time Alec was back out there, Simon and Clary were speeding around the edge of the rink, smiles and laughs plastered on their faces. Clary gave Simon a shove, and Simon almost lost his balance.

“Careful you two,” Aline called to them from center ice. “Did you not watch Alec take the fall when he tried that exact thing during the game?”

“Ha ha,” Alec replied.

“You know,” Simon circled around to Alec, “if you wanted to go down with your boyfriend, you could’ve waited until _after_ the game.”

“Simon!” Alec held his hands up defensively, while the rest of the team seemed too eager to pat Simon on the back for that comment. “I feel attacked.”

“So did Magnus when you lunged in front of him so chaotically,” Emma replied.

“It wasn’t chaotic!”

The conversation around Alec’s play cut off when the door leading to the locker rooms suddenly opened with a clatter. At first Alec couldn’t see who it was, as they were moving carefully. He silently prayed it wasn’t an official coming to tell them to clear out, because he was secretly enjoying this even if his teammates were making fun of him. Finally, he saw two familiar faces making their way around the bench.

“I’m gone for one and a half games, and you guys lose _both_ of them?” Jace called to the team. Isabelle stood behind him, her hands resting on the handles of his wheelchair while she rolled her eyes at his comment.

The team made their way over to the bench, their insistence on slagging off Alec quickly forgotten. Jace looked a lot better than he did when Alec saw him yesterday. His usual confident smile was present while the team exchanged greetings and asking how he was doing since his injury.

“They let you out of the hospital already?” Clary asked.

“Not exactly,” said Izzy. “We caught the final period.”

Jace shrugged his one shoulder. “What the doctor doesn’t know won’t kill him.”

“Yeah but it could kill you,” Simon quipped.

“I’m good. Get me out on this ice already.”

Alec opened the gate and helped Izzy lift Jace’s wheelchair over the lip and onto the ice. All the while, Jace kept fidgeting. Alec could tell his brother was eager to be up and playing with them. Jace hated being so sedentary for so long. It wouldn’t be too long before Jace would become much more frustrated with his situation.

Simon extended a hockey stick in Jace’s direction. “Think you can handle this one-handed?”

Jace grabbed the stick, collected a puck that happened to be nearby, and with a wince he slapped the puck toward the goal. The puck sailed wide and didn’t even make it to the goal before it slowed to a stop.

“I’ll work on it.”

“Hey Cyclones!”

Alec turned in sync with his teammates to the voice calling for them. Given his track record from the last few days, Alec tensed for a confrontation.

However, he was greeted by the smiling face of Magnus, surrounded by the rest of the Knights. They all looked to be in good spirits. Well deserved good spirits.

“Hey yourselves,” Alec cocked a smile. “Looking for a rematch?”

Magnus chuckled. “Yeah right.”

“What?” Jace chimed in. “Afraid you’ll lose?”

“In your dreams, Herondale,” Raphael smirked. “We already won.”

Alec had his eyes locked with Magnus’ eyes. Alec couldn’t help his smile. Magnus was clearly enjoying this. Alec had always known a competitive little spark in Magnus, and it was very evident in Magnus’ expression now.

“Join us, then,” Alec said. “Let’s see if you still got it.”

“Alright then, Lightwood.”

The two teams fell into an easy pickup game. Though, game would be a loose term for it. Everyone was spending much more time goofing off than they were focusing on any sort or “rematch” energy.  Both teams seemed like they enjoyed the company of friends much more than the competitiveness. Any steam anyone had left over from the pressure of the one game, or the tournament as a whole, soon dissipated, leaving a tired yet silly mood behind. Stupid plays they wouldn’t even attempt in any sort of match were rampant from both teams, some of them spent more time laughing than actually competing with each other, and Alec got flack anytime someone tripped or fell over.

“Sorry about that, by the way,” Alec said to Magnus. Admittedly Magnus found it highly amusing how much his boyfriend was being made fun of for that play, and the light tint of pink that came to Alec’s cheeks as he now apologized.

“Neither one of us got hurt,” Magnus replied as he leaned his chin on the top of his stick. “It’s fine, Alexander.” The pickup game had fizzled out into smaller groups doing their own thing. Maia chatting with Clary and Simon, Raphael and Bat in conversation with Jace and Sebastian, while a puck was passed around between them. Emma and Julian seemed to be the only ones still competing, and were zipping around the ice having a grand old time with each other. He also noticed Helen and Aline hanging out particularly close to each other...

Alec chuckled and leaned back against the boards. “I’m happy you guys won, by the way.”

Magnus glanced at him. “No hard feelings, then?”

“No, of course not,” Alec said. “It was a good game, everyone played well. And honestly, I’m kind of glad we’re done for now. I mean, it would’ve been nice to win. But still…” Magnus could tell that Alec looked a lot lighter, and the weight of competing had disappeared. That steadfast determination that was so present in Alec’s expression since the tournament started was gone, replaced by the Alec Magnus knew well from their FaceTime sessions. The soft smiles, the small spark in his eyes. “I’m kind of glad we’re done. And if I wanted anyone else to beat the Devils, it would be you guys.”

“You know,” Magnus said. “The Knights season isn’t over after the tournament. And I have it on good authority that the Cyclones season isn’t over yet either…”

Alec laughed at Magnus’ sly smile. “Do we have another game against each other?”

“I don’t know, we might have to check. We already won once, we might just have to beat you again.”

“You’re on, Bane.”

Magnus laughed and threw an arm around Alec’s shoulder, pulling his boyfriend in to kiss him on the cheek.

Suddenly, at the far goal, Helen and Aline had fallen into a pile, both of them in fits of laughter. But before anyone could get in a comment, Aline leaned up and closed the distance between her lips and Helen’s.

After a few moments and a few more bursts of laughter, they both noticed everyone watching them. “What?” Aline asked. “You think Magnus and Alec are the only gays who get to have fun at this thing?”

Magnus shrugged. “She has a point,” he mumbled in Alec’s ear before kissing his cheek again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -You can find me on twitter @true_lightwood and as truelightwood on tumblr  
> \- Again, the tag for this fic is #CrossCheckFic


	9. Blue Line to Blue Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final games of the tournament are here. They should have learned to be ready for anything by now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Thanks for bearing with me while the chapter update was delayed a bit!  
> -If you want to talk about the fic at all, feel free to use the tag #CrossCheckFic

“Magnus!”

Magnus noticed the mass of a figure approaching him from the side, even before one of his teammates called his name. Magnus had half a second to send the puck across the ice and skid to a halt, just before the other player collided into him. The halt made Jonathan Morgenstern take the brunt of the check into the boards, though he did catch Magnus’ shoulder in the impact.

Jonathan looked at Magnus from under the lip of his helmet, his eyes daggers digging into Magnus until they snapped back to the game and parted ways again. Unfortunately it wasn’t the first time this game that Jonathan was targeting Magnus, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. He was sure anyone in the arena could see Jonathan seeking Magnus out like a shark. Even someone in the back row not paying attention could catch on to this. Satisfaction bloomed in Magnus every time Jonathan got called for a penalty. Though that downside was that it was never anything major enough to get Jonathan kicked out of the game. Magnus only hoped for that level of poetic justice.

The Knights passed the puck around in the Devil’s zone. Every chance the Devils got, they would try aggressive tactics just like in the past game. But the Knights were ready this time, and kept their plays one step ahead. Every pass across the ice, every shot on goal, and every clearing of the puck kept the opposing team moving. And the more the game ticked by, the more tired the Devils got.

Helen collected the puck and made a slap shot from a fair distance away. It sailed through the air, and Magnus was near the goal to make a rebound if needed, but it went right past the goalie, swishing the net as the buzzer went off for a goal scored.

High-fives were passed around on the team. It was the second period and the Knights were up 2-1.

They reset for another face-off at center ice. Magnus again felt Jonathan’s stare on him. They met over the center logo. Magnus rotated his hands over his stick as he tried centering his mind at the task before him.

As the ref approached, he glanced at his opponent to see Jonathan staring at him from under the lip of his visor.

“I messed with you and your precious boytoy’s team before, I could do it again, Bane,” Jonathan muttered.

Magnus smirked. “I’d like to see you try, Morgenstern.”

* * *

Alec leaned forward in his seat, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jacket. Only in the start of the game did he put his hands in his pockets and realize the Knights patch was there. He hadn’t thought about it in several days, and if asked he probably would’ve said he lost it along the way. Sure enough, it was still with him.

He kept fiddling with it in his fingers as he watched the game. His teammates sat in a big clump several rows ahead of him, the elation of the pressure no longer on their shoulders still giving them an air of energy. While they were intent on watching the game, none of them were so into it as Alec was, and they’d taken his short responses and lack of conversation as their cue to leave him be while they sat closer and Alec sat by himself.

Alec jumped when Helen scored the goal that put the Knights up by one. Relief flooded through him, though it lasted only a quick second before the tension returned. They were up by one goal halfway through the game but anything could happen still.

“Hey Alec?”

Alec glanced up to see Underhill standing over him. He’d gotten a haircut since Alec had last seen him.

“Hey,” Alec said awkwardly, not exactly ready for social interaction.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Uh, sure,” Alec scooted over to give Underhill a seat while the game picked up again. “You...aren’t playing?” He asked, glancing down at where Underhill’s team was playing.

“No. I quit After our last game. I felt sick after what happened to your brother,” he explained. “How’s he doing, by the way?”

“Oh,” Alec nodded, remembering Jonathan had mentioned that Underhill quit the team the other day. “He’s...fine. He has some function in his legs. And enough will to sneak out of the hospital with my sister.” Alec paused, hearing Underhill chuckle next to him. “I know we all keep saying Jonathan did that to Jace and it wasn’t even really him…”

“True. It was Raj and Jordan. He planned it though.”

“What?”

“Jonathan wanted to do something to throw you off. He knew trying to get you out of the game wouldn’t work so he went for Jace.”

Hearing it from an actual person only settled the rage Alec had further in his stomach. That scumbag ruined his brother’s life for a stupid tournament.

“He did the same thing when he got Magnus tossed out of the game. You two are the best on the best teams. You and Magnus were his big obstacle from winning. And because he’s not a better player than you two, he went for all of this shit.”

It all sounded ridiculous to Alec, like this was the plot of a movie and not something an actual person would do. “I need to tell someone…”

“I already did,” Underhill said. “I told the tournament officials. All they said was they’d look into it but...tournament’s almost over. I don’t know how much they can do now.”

Alec sighed. If the Devil’s won today the tournament was over. If the Knights won, they’d have to play again and beat the Devils twice to be declared the winners of the bracket.

He’d have to trust that playing the game would be Jonathan’s downfall.

* * *

 

Jonathan was still right on Magnus through the rest of the game. Magnus took a lot of shoves and endured eyes leering on him and a breath down his neck for three periods. It was like Jonathan didn’t actually play a position other than covering Magnus. He was even making mental notes in the down time to consider Jonathan’s play when things were going his way versus a game like this one. Pressure evaporated away when the final buzzer echoed around the arena, giving the Knights their 3-1 victory. Magnus was almost knocked over as his teammates plowed into him in celebration. If they could repeat this great game tomorrow, the tournament victory would officially be theirs.

The crowd was up on their feet cheering, but only one set of eyes and applause mattered to Magnus, and he immediately found that familiar person in the crowd, Alec’s soft smile all Magnus needed right now.

Alec had an arm around Magnus’ waist as the two of them walked back to the hotel together. It had long gone dark outside. The rural small-town they were in was providing a clear view of the stars above, the first time in days that they could see a sky not shrouded by clouds.

“You really are an amazing player,” Alec said. “I know you know that.”

“I do. But I appreciate it, Alexander,” Magnus smiled. “Some colleges have said so too.”

“Really?” Alec said enthusiastically, “That’s great!”

“Thanks. They’re all in the region, so I won’t be too far. Though...I don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned what your plan is for next year?”

Alec was looking down and have a half-shrug as they stepped into the hotel elevator. “I don’t know. I applied to some colleges, but I’m not excited about them, I guess… And after what happened with Jace, I don’t want to be far from him...I think a gap year is looking more and more likely…”

The elevator came to a stop at Alec’s floor and they made their way toward Alec’s room. “No shame in any of that,” Magnus said, and he noticed the little relief in Alec’s expression. “You’ll figure it out.”

They came to a stop outside Alec’s door. “Can we go back to talking about how great you are?” Alec’s hands found the front of Magnus’ shirt and pulled him in close, the little distance between them disappearing.

“I won’t say no to that,” Magnus replied before he kissed Alec softly. He could feel Alec’s smile under his lips. While the tournament wasn’t over yet, the lingering sense of pressure Magnus felt since the start faded away.

They kissed lazily for a few minutes there in the hall. Only when they heard the footsteps around the corner did they finally break away from each other. Not a second too soon, before someone rounded the corner toward them.

“Izzy?” Alec said. His sister had her hair up, and was pulling on her leather jacket.

“Hi boys,” she smiled and gave them a small wave.

“What are you doing here?” Alec asked.

“Nothing,” Izzy replied. She brushed past Magnus, and he caught himself admiring her demeanor tonight. “Have a nice night.” With that, the elevator opened, Isabelle stepped in, and disappeared as the door closed.

* * *

Alec rushed into the arena and easily found his team among the crowd. As much as he had pride in playing for the Cyclones, it really did pain him sometimes how much they looked like a cult when they all wore their hoodies and jackets at the same time. He slipped the business card he’d been given into his pocket and practically fell into the seat next to Sebastian. He thought being held up in the lobby would make him late for the opening face-off, but he was surprised to see that the game hadn’t even started yet.

“What was that about?” Sebastian asked.

“Nothing,” Alec replied, knowing Sebastian wouldn’t push the issue. “Shouldn’t they have started by now?”

“Five minutes ago,” Sebastian replied.

Usually all of the games started right on time, but a five-minute delay, while it was odd, didn’t seem that out of the ordinary.

* * *

 

They were all ready and focused for the final game. Across the ice, he could see Jonathan with his team, and something in the way Jonathan carried himself made Magnus think Jonathan was very tense today. The minutes before slogged by, and Magnus thought at first that the delay in the game was nothing important, and he could take advantage of the extra minutes for more warm-ups with his team.

But the fine minute delay eventually turned into ten, fifteen, and soon twenty. The Knights had gradually stopped warming up, and ended up in a pack in the center of their zone. Only occasionally would someone make a comment about how long they’d been waiting, or posit a theory as to why they were waiting around.

Magnus’ eyes glanced between the refs -- the three of them huddled around the big open doors at the corner of the ice while they chatted very intently with some of the tournament officials -- and the bench where Luke was. This didn’t seem like a normal delay in game. Something was off.

Magnus motioned for them to follow him, and they all went to their team bench, crowding around Luke with confused expressions. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Luke said. “They haven’t told us anything either.”

Magnus watched as Jonathan skated over to his coach, and with a fire in his eyes asked what was taking so long for them to start. The Devils coach just gave an exasperated shrug, which only seemed to make Jonathan angrier.

The crowd around them was antsy as well, with an almost angry buzzing coming from the stands. He saw the Cyclones taking up a row, with Alec sitting on the aisle. He appeared to be chatting with his teammates, occasionally leaning over the blonde boy next to him to listen to someone else on his team. Alec’s brow was furrowed, like he was working through what the issue could be just like Magnus and his team were.

Bat pointed across the ice. “Isn’t that Alec’s sister?”

Everyone’s heads snapped to where the refs were speaking to the officials at the other end of the rink. And sure enough, among the refs and the growing crowd of the tournament officials was Isabelle Lightwood. Next to her was someone Magnus vaguely recognized as a guy from the Devils, Underhill.

“What the fuck…” He heard Raphael mutter.

Before he could mumble out any more swears, one of the officials stepped out onto the ice. He shuffled rather slowly, but with a sense of expertise of knowing how to walk on ice while wearing dress shoes. As he walked right past the Devils, Jonathan came forward to ask, presumably, what was happening here, but the official brushed Jonathan off.

He brought the microphone in his hand up. “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the delay. We thank all of you for coming and staying with us for these last two weeks. I just want to say that this tournament has always prided itself on the highest level of sportsmanship and fair play.”

“We got delayed almost half an hour so this guy could talk about sportsmanship?” Raphael sounded incredulous.

“However,” the man continued, “Due to some information we’ve received, we have to declare the end of the tournament right now.”

The silence that had fallen over the arena minutes before was suddenly cut with spectators’ dull chorus of confused reactions. Players on both teams exchanged looks with their teammates. Out of the corner of his eye, Magnus saw Luke move to the end of the bench, like he was ready to march out onto the ice himself.

The official held up his hand and continued. “We cannot continue the tournament while we have one team competing in unsportsmanlike conduct both on and off the ice. We have no choice but to eliminate the Alicante Devils from the tournament.”

Raphael smacked his hand into Magnus’ chest as the rest of the team froze with that news.

Jonathan shoved aside one of his teammates. “ _Excuse me_?”

“We will not have a team continue to compete when they threaten and injure other players, and when they encourage the other teams to do the same. If the Devils could please get off the ice right now.”

Magnus could vaguely hear the crowd around them buzzing again, some handfuls of spectators on their feet and yelling about this news. But in some corners of the arena he could hear calls of agreement. Magnus continued to watch as Jonathan dropped his stick and crossed the ice, putting himself right in front of the official.

“What is the meaning of this?” Jonathan snapped.

“Son, you’re going to have to come with me,” the official tried to steer Jonathan toward the doors, but Jonathan jerked his arm out of grasp.

“You can’t do this!” Jonathan burst, momentarily silencing the chatter and cheers of the crowd. But those supporting the Knights — about two thirds of the stands at this point — just kept up the noise to drown him out. “This is the final game! We got here fairly and we’ll play it!”

“We have a lot of proof that suggests otherwise, Mr. Morgenstern. Now if you and your team will come with us.”

Magnus was shocked to actually see members of the Devils comply, even one of them shoving Jonathan forward to get him to move off the ice. Jonathan was steaming, and stormed off, past a very smug looking Underhill as he left. The cheers from the crowd only grew in volume.

When the last of the Devils filed away, the official held up a hand to calm the crowd. Magnus realized how tense his muscles were right now, and his teammates also held themselves with the same stiff postures. He was sure they’d all come to the same realization in the backs of their minds, but all of them withheld the thought until someone could confirm it. The official could end it all here if he wanted to.

“With that, it also brings me great pleasure to declare the Brooklyn Knights the winners of the 2019 Northeast Regionals Tournament.”

It took Magnus a moment before he fully processed those words, and only did he join along in the roar of ovation when Maia threw her arms around him. Everyone on the team was throwing around hugs and fist-bumps, and it was Bat who first threw his gloves into the air and discarded his helmet, causing the chain reaction of all the Knights to do the same and leave them in a mess across the ice.

An official brought a trophy out to center and handed it off to the team. Each of them hand a hand on it as they held it above their heads, the crowd roaring even louder now.

Magnus briefly thought that they didn’t deserve this win. They hadn’t won the final game, technically. It was sheer luck that they happened to eliminate the Devils just in time. But when Magnus thought back to everything they’d been through — getting outed, thinking he had lost the respect of his team, being ejected from the game, and even watching Alec go through that and more — maybe this was more well-deserved than he thought.

They had won all those games, after all.

“If all the teams who are here today would like to join us down on the ice, we will close out this tournament here!”

* * *

 

The Cyclones practically ran through the complex, down the flight of stairs and to the back halls that led to the locker rooms and the rink. They were ushered through the doors and out onto the ice, back into the high energy of the celebration. The crowd on the ice, the growing teams, coaches, and officials, made Alec lose track of where Magnus was. Somewhere in the middle of it all, he figured.

Before he stepped out onto the rink though, he caught sight of his sister at the threshold. “Izzy!”

She turned, a smug smile on her face. “Hey!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I got the officials to agree to eliminate the Devils. Well, I didn’t tell them that. I had all the proof and they made that decision themselves.”

“You gave them proof? How?” He was pretty certain Jonathan had covered his tracks. Or that the officials couldn’t get involved if it wasn’t related to the tournament.

“That moron did all his planning and bribing over texting and Venmo. A guy on the Premier was happy to spill to me. And Underhill helped.”

Alec sighed. Of course his sister had figured it out.

“Now go join your team and your boyfriend.” Izzy have Alec’s shoulder a shove, and he went out onto the ice.

Confetti swirled down from the ceiling. The crowd was now a mass of players, and Alec had already lost sight of his teammates. Attendants were trying to roll out carpets to accommodate the growing crowd without skates on, but it looked like they were having trouble getting people to move. Alec was pretty good at moving on ice in sneakers, and he made his way through the group. It was spread out enough that Alec moved through the crowd with ease, and soon caught sight of both the familiar maroon jerseys and the navy colors of his own team.

People seemed to part at just the right time, giving Alec a clear view of Magnus. Magnus was beaming, Alec loved the glow on his face and the sparkle in Magnus’ eyes every time he smiled.

He could see that smile on Magnus’ face forever and never get tired of it. Magnus was so important to him, and even after all of this they’d made it through, on top, no less.

Alec thought back to their first few days at the tournament, meeting in quiet, abandoned office rooms at the hotel, coming up with excuses to avoid suspicion, needing to leave each other early. He heard Magnus’ words when Alec had to bail early that first day: “we’ll have enough time later.”

But they were about to part ways again, back to phone calls, texts, and everything else that came with living an hour away from each other. That time would never be enough. They had limited time, and Alec didn’t want to waste a single second of it. Not anymore.

Alec’s gaze locked with Magnus’, they watched each other for several lingering beats as the celebration around them seemed to dull and slow.

Alec moved first. He was done hiding and scraping for time. He went right up to Magnus, cupped his jaw and pulled Magnus into a kiss. Here and now, he was leaving everything out on the table, drowning out the crowd and losing himself in the familiarity of Magnus against him.

Magnus was surprised at first, but soon relaxed into the kiss.

Alec didn’t know how long it lasted, but when they pulled away, he kept his gaze on Magnus while the noise around them took a crescendo that snapped Alec back to reality. Of course everyone had seen that. And nothing eliminated from the celebration taking place. Both Alec and Magnus were jostled when their teammates clapped them on the shoulders, teasing their public declaration.

Alec thought he’d be trembling. Him from two weeks ago would’ve balked at the idea of kissing his boyfriend in front of this entire crowd. But he was surprisingly content, even elated from the moment. He was okay.

Even in the high of the celebration, the best part was Magnus’ hand in his, the steady support with him here, and always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The last chapter, our epilogue, is coming in just a few days so stay tuned!  
> -Find me on twitter @true_lightwood and as truelightwood on tumblr!  
> -Feel free to use the tag #CrossCheckFic


	10. Epilogue: 6 Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6 Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have it! The final chapter!  
> Again the tag for this fic is #CrossCheckFic

**6 years later**

Alec drove north out of the city. He kept one hand lazily on the steering wheel and vaguely listened to the music coming from his speakers as the time passed and he clocked the towns he passed as he drove. Slowly the city bustle gave way to the active outer neighborhoods of New York, then soon to the space of the suburbs, and Alec was passing the familiar farm fields and wooded areas as he drove closer and closer to home.

For the past several years, Alec had caught himself calling that little Queens apartment he owned as home -- “I’m going home for the night” or “I’m going home after the game.” But the apartment was simply a comfortable place for him to stay during the season. Home was a couple hours north with a certain person.

Alec turned off the familiar exit and drove through the familiar town. He went straight for Magnus’ workplace — well, it was both of their workplace, but Alec could only commit to half of the year here. Magnus was the true owner, and but in all the true work to keep it running.

He pulled into the parking lot of the complex and got out of his car. He was, like every other time he came home, without any sort of regalia for his current team. Everyone in the area seemed to know who he was. “The Alec Lightwood? Of the New York Rangers?” They’d ask, as if they didn’t already know that answer. And he wasn’t ever in the mood to attract attention. Besides, the season was over and he was eager to be home with Magnus again for the next few months.

Magnus prided himself on keeping his business clean and sleek, and that’s what this hockey complex was inside and out. He kept his good reputation owning this business in part by having a good quality place, and also catering to anyone who wanted to learn to skate or to play hockey, no matter where they came from or their ability. These doors were as open as possible, as Magnus once put it. And it was necessary. His hometown rink had eventually fallen to disrepair when that owner couldn’t fix it up. Even the nice complex in Idris closed down, allowing Magnus to make a bold move with his new business degree, and opened this new place, halfway between his hometown and Alec’s hometown. Perfect for both of them to stay close to family and friends. And it filled the intense need this region had for youth hockey. Two rinks, a store, and a small restaurant, and Magnus still had plans to expand it. But right now all was going well.

Alec walked in, the heat hitting him immediately. He waved to the high-schooler working behind the skate-rental desk, and went through the first double doors.

Bright fluorescents lit up the ice in front of him, which was currently occupied by a very energetic looking group of six-year olds, as well as Alec’s brother. Jace appeared to be chasing the young, giggling kids around the ice, all of them tumbling around and having the time of their lives. Even the handful parents in the stands were laughing at the shenanigans happening at their little one’s skating lessons.

Jace worked at the complex, assisting Magnus with the business side (though how the two of them got along was above Alec’s head, even years later) taught skating lessons, and assisted in coaching the hockey teams. Jace’s dreams of going pro had been shot the day of his injury. Even when he was able to walk again and even played his final season with the Cyclones the following year, lingering pains and numbness kept him from playing past his senior year. But he always insisted he loved that he could do what he did here. It never really stopped Alec from that lingering thought in the back of his mind, that Jace bore some resentment to him for being able to go pro. Especially the days where the old pain of Jace’s injury showed itself.

Jace noticed Alec watching and he gave Alec a wave and smile before returning to the game with his class. Alec returned it, then made his way to the stairs.

He watched the gang on the ice as he crossed the windows overlooking the rink from the second floor, but turned his attention to the door at the end of the hall. It was ajar, and Alec was just about to walk in when he stopped in his tracks.

The name plaque on the door now read ‘ **Magnus Lightwood-Bane**.’

Alec couldn’t help the huge smile on his face as he knocked. His heart leapt at the familiar “come in” from the other side.

The walls were a simple gray in color, and had only the necessities for decor. Necessities included: an old Knights jersey and an old Cyclones jersey, both set in frames, an official NHL poster of Alec from two seasons ago, a Mighty Ducks poster (at Alec’s insistence) and the display case on the left wall. Inside that was a collection of accolades from over the years: Magnus’ business degree, a copy of Alec’s first professional hockey contract, Magnus’ silver Olympic medal from three years ago next to a picture of the USA team he played for while balancing college, and the trophy from that silly regionals tournament so long ago.

Magnus was sitting behind a big wooden desk, a stack of papers with notes in front of him while the Mac computer glowed on the side of his face. Their phone call last night consisted of a conversation about Magnus wanting to get his work done early so he and Alec could have the afternoon to themselves. Alec figured that’s what was keeping Magnus’ attention.

“Hey you,” Alec said as he stepped into the room.

Magnus looked up and returned the smile. He stood up and rounded his desk to pull Alec into a long-awaited hug. The distance between them was only a couple hours, but it was enough to keep them apart longer than either of them preferred. Magnus gave Alec a quick kiss. “How was the drive?”

Alec shrugged. “Same as usual,” he replied. “You made a change to your door?”

“You like it?”

“The wedding isn’t until June, babe.”

“Oh well I jumped the gun,” Magnus teased before kissing Alec again.

Alec smiled into the kiss. “I do like it, by the way.” Alec had already made sure his jersey next season would have his new last name on it, ready to go.

“I thought so.” Magnus sighed. “I thought I’d be done by now, but I need at least half an hour. I’m so sorry…”

Alec waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

Magnus went back to his seat. “If you want something to do, I think a handful of those kids in Jace’s class are Rangers fans, and they’d love a picture with Alec Lightwood.”

Alec chuckled. “I think I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and for following along with updates. I read and greatly appreciate every comment I've gotten on this fic, even when I can't find the words to write replies to all of them. This is the first multi-chapter I've finished too, and I'm really happy with it. Thanks so much again! <3  
> I also may write a few deleted and bonus scenes in the near future, so keep an eye out for those.  
> Find me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/true_lightwood/status/1018680515904327680)  
> and tumblr [here](http://truelightwood.tumblr.com/)  
> Again, you can use the tag #CrossCheckFic on twitter and tumblr!


End file.
